Dire World
by Eternalmoonprincess
Summary: Romance, Action/Adventure. ALT UNIVERSE, no sailors. The 5 girls (inners + moon) are freedom fighters in Trunks' future, where the androids have taken over the world. See summery inside.
1. PROLOGUE

AUTHORS NOTE:   
Ok, well this is my first fan fiction but I think you will like it. It's actually based off a dream I had after I read 'The Other Android' LOL! NOTE: For those of you who do not like hentai, there will be edited parts. I don't really like hentai, but this HAS A PLOT and is based on ROMANCE!!! It will still be R do to many sexual references starting in a few chapters. For those of you who do like hentai, sorry, but there is nothing extreme. I THINK THAT YOU WILL LIKE THE PLOT THOUGH!!!!  
Ok, this is an alternate universe. A Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z crossover. No sailor scouts, at least I don't think so. Also, the DBZ characters might be a little out of character. But this is an alternate universe, like I said, though it is set in Trunks's future, when the Androids have taken over. Ok, the first few parts I need to make up, because I kinda jumped into the middle of the story in my dream, LOL! Also, I will not include the end of my dream, where it gets really odd and then goes into a whole other dream entirely... ANYWAYS her is the character name guide.  
  
NAME USED IS THE FIRST ONE!!!  
Serena = Usagi, Sailor Moon, (but not in the story)  
Lita = Makoto, Jupiter  
Raye = Rei, Mars  
Amy = Ami, Mercury  
Mina = Minako, Venus  
  
Android 17, or 17 = Juuanagou or somethin.... OK, you know who all the androids are.... And you'll recognize the other names.   
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Sailor Moon or Dragon Ball Z, or the characters from those. SO YOU CAN'T SURE ME! HA! YOU GOT NOTHING!! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!! Besides, do you really want three cents and a stick of stale gum? I didn't think so.  
  
AW HELL, DID YOU REALLY THINK I OWNED THESE ANYWAY?!? JEEZ, OF COURSE NOT!! IF I DID, THIS WOULDN'T BE A FANFICTION!!! IT WOULD BE A FREAKIN STORYLINE!!!! ARG! YOU PEOPLE ARE HOPELESS!!!  
.... whoops, sorry there.... spaced out... ANYWAY, HERE IS THE STORY!!!  
  
DIRE WORLD  
Prologue  
  
Damn the androids. They had taken over the world. They had killed millions. And now they were enslaving more. For what purpose? Only those who were their slaves knew, or at least, you would think they would know. Serena spat in disgust thinking about the androids. One foot rested on the bottom rung of the railing on the roof of the old office building. Her arms were crossed, leaning on the top rung. Her blond hair flowed in the wind as her once bright blue eyes stared coldly at the rubble below her. She wore faded jeans, ripped in many places, a jean halter top with scruffy edges, and black boots to polish it off. She looked very much like the rebel she was. Her face was set in a grim expression as she lifted one hand to touch the cross hanging from her neck.  
The door to the stairway opened and a dirty, brown haired girl dressed similarly to Serena called the her inside. Serena turned and headed towards the door. Once inside, she looked around the run down room. Her four friends and partners sat around, on the floor or on soiled cushions. Raye, the raven-haired girl with the temper, fiddled with her 3X20 guns. It was an old brand, but had good technology in it. The latest style of firearms you could get nowadays. Mina, the other blond in the group, lounged in a corner reading a two-month old news paper they had managed to get from a town that hadn't yet been destroyed. Amy, the blue haired brain, was helping Lita, the brown haired girl, make dinner. If you could call it dinner. Roots, canned vegetables, and some dried fish. Oh Heaven. At least it was better than what they had had to eat on the streets. Much better.  
An hour later they were sitting on the floor eating in silence. Towards the end of the meal, Raye banged her fist down on the floor. The others looked up, startled.  
"God damnit, what good are freakin' freedom fighters when there is no one to freakin' free?!?"  
Ami sighed. "We'll go to another town soon. One that isn't destroyed. Maybe we can help some people there."  
"Those androids they are sending are getting worse," Serena said. "The originals we can't stand a chance against, but the weak ones they started sending were no sweat."  
Mina grinned. "Yeah, those were fun. You shoot a few times in different places, and their circuits are busted. Hit 'em just right and they made the coolest explosion!"   
The girls laughed at this. "That was when they were a piece of cake," Lita said. "Now that the main guys know we're here and ready to fight, the androids keep gettin' harder to destroy."  
"It's like they're testing us," Serena muttered. She stood up and started to pace. "They could easily have sent much harder ones once they heard of us, but they keep sending them just a little bit stronger than the last."  
The others nodded. Serena turned to address them.  
"Tomorrow we head out. We'll go to Vendon City; it's a few miles west of Sataan City. It's pretty run-down now, but they haven't destroyed it yet. Word is they're gettin' slaves from there now. Damn, wish I knew what they were usin' them for." She shook her head and turned towards the window.  
"We'll hitch a ride on the hover trains tomorrow," she continued. "Get you're guns ready, gather the supplies, and be up early. When we get to the city we'll get more ammo if we can. Understood?"  
The others agreed. Serena turned back towards them.  
"Get some sleep, ya'll."  
  
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End of prologue, Chapter one coming soon! ALSO, NO SERENA IS NOT A DITZ. She is strong, smart, and responsible. So all you who don't like that, TOUGH!!! English version of the anime makes her look much worse than she is. Japanese anime is better, and in the manga she is MUCH BETTER!! Plus, for those of you who didn't know, a lot is an act because A. she wants to be a normal girl, B. She doesn't like to dwell on unhappy things so she tries to stay as cheerful as possible, and C. enemies underestimate her that way.   
OK, CHAPTER ONE WILL BE POSTED EITHER TODAY OR TOMORROW. I'M WORKING ON IT NOW. Actually, by the time you read this, it may already be posted!  
p.s. I'm a little confused on how to upload; How do I add a chapter now that we can't upload separate chapters? E-MAIL ME PLEASE!!! P.S. I have a mac and use Internet Explorer if that helps any... My e-mail addy is EternalMoonAngel@tuxedomask.com  
THANKS!!


	2. Chapter 1

OK peeps, here is chapter one!!  
**NAME CORRECTION**: I said I would use Amy, but I accidentally keep using Ami instead, so she is going to by Ami with and i, not a y.  
Disclaimer: I do not own the Sailor Moon Anime or manga, nor any of the characters in it. I also do not own Dragon Ball Z, or any dragon ball series, the anime nor the manga nor the characters.  
BUT: I do own a bunch of sailor moon posters, plushes, and lots of cards! HA!  
  
  
**DIRE WORLD**  
Chapter One  
  
They were freedom fighters. Serena Tsukino was the leader of the group of five. The others were Raye Hino, Lita Kino, Mina Aino, and Ami Mizuno. They fought the androids and helped all those in need. Each girl was haunted by a dark past and a need for revenge on those who had caused them pain. And a need to help the innocent.  
  


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Serena: As a child, she saw her Mother and Father killed by the androids. Her brother, mad with grief and hatred, tried to destroy the androids. They were too strong for him, and he was killed. This was when the androids had started making other androids to do their bidding; Serena was lucky they had missed the time when the two most powerful androids went around killing and destroying. They were known as 17 and 18, or the twins from hell.  
Serena had survived because she had been hidden in the cellar, and because the new, weaker androids were not as thorough as the originals. Being worried for her parents safety, she had crept up the stairs and peeked through the door. She watched as her family was killed, and was forever haunted by the memory. When the androids destroyed the town, the cellar had withheld, keeping her from being crushed by tons of rock and rubble.  
She had spent the next seven years on the streets. After a few months among the ashes of her home town, she had no where to get food. So she went to another town. More survivors were there; people who had not been killed by crumbling buildings or by the androids' powers. She was able to get enough food to survive, though most of it would not have been considered food before the Androids' reign of terror. She had learned to use a gun, where to get ammo, and more importantly, how to survive on the streets and in the wilderness. Her one friend, Terris, was like her older brother. He watched out for her and got her food when she couldn't find any. He was the one who taught her how to survive on the streets. But one day, he left with a group of young rebels to try to destroy the two Androids. She had been eleven; he was seventeen. He had told her he would be back for her.   
She believed him.  
She never saw him again.  
Sometimes she would still wake up in the night, screaming "Matte! Onegai, matte! Don't leave me!" {AN: translation: Wait! Please, wait!}  
She had met Raye when she was about 12; six years after her family had been killed. They became fast friends and always stuck together. They were there for each other in times of hunger, in times of pain, and in times of fear. When there was no shelter, they huddled together for warmth.  
It was a change for Serena. On the streets, everyone knew her as a formidable fighter, even at her young age. She was cold, no longer holding that spark of light in her eyes. She never showed her emotions, not to anyone. She was tough. She was a punk. But when she met Raye, that ended. She was still the tough girl on the streets, but Raye knew her better. When they were alone, Serena showed her true self. She made jokes, she was relaxed. After awhile, you could sometimes see the old light in her eyes.  
Serena had met the other girls in different towns. All had a story to tell, a story of pain. Lita she had met when she was fourteen; Ami when she was fifteen, and Mina when she was almost sixteen. Now, at twenty-two, nothing could separate them. When they had all turned eighteen, they decided they would fight back; be rebels. Serena had taught Amy and Mina to use a gun; the other two knew, but with Serena's help, they became pros. They learned hand to hand combat from Lita, knife fighting from Raye, staff fighting from Mina, and Ami taught them back flips and other moves of agility.  
They called themselves the Moonlight Senshi. They had formed their group under the light of a full moon, swearing to forever fight the Androids and protect the innocent. And that was how Serena got to where she was today.  
  


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Raye: Raye couldn't remember her family. All she could remember was Onna, the woman who had taken her in when she was five. Onna had told her that she had found Raye in the streets, crying for her parents. Onna took her in, and Raye lived with her and a group of other homeless people for five years. They wandered from town to town, staying in the wilderness when they could to avoid the androids. Raye had been taught the ways of survival.  
When she was ten, some androids found them in the wilderness. They blew up the cave they were in, and everyone was killed. She had been out gathering fire wood with one of the men. When they saw what had happened, they hid from the androids, who were still looking for anyone who might have survived. Once they had left, Raye and the man had gone their separate ways. Raye had gone back to the cities, knowing that fewer and fewer were being destroyed. She lived on her own for four years, until she had met Serena.   
Serena had taken her to her hideout and shared her food with her. Raye was surprised at this kindness that was shown to her, still a stranger. Serena had at first seemed cold and tough, but as Raye got to know her better, she found that Serena was just a lonely girl trying to survive. Raye met all the other girls later on, and the group had become very close.  
  


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Lita: After her family was killed, she started to work in a restaurant in a nearby town. It was a run-down place, but in return for washing dishes and scrubbing floors, she got food and a place to sleep. When the town was destroyed, she fled to another. She started living on the streets. It was hard at first, but she was strong and could take care of herself, even at age 12. She was very lonely until she met Serena. Serena had taken her to a small warehouse, where she and her friend Raye lived. They shared their food and shelter. Frankly, Lita was amazed. She had never seen such kindness. When you lived in a world like theirs, it's every person for themselves. The three girls quickly became friends.  
Lita was a great cook, and was able to make even the most disgusting things taste good, or at least bearable. She was always looking out for the other girls, and sometimes started fights with other homeless people who were stupid enough to insult her friends.  
  


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Ami: Ami couldn't remember life before she was seven. All she remembered was moving from place to place with a group of homeless kids. They savaged for food, taught each other how to fight, how to pick pockets, and so on. One day when she was fifteen she was off by herself looking for food. A man had jumped her and pulled her into an alley. She wasn't a very good fighter and was almost raped when Serena had jumped in. She beat the man and took Ami to her place. Ami was pretty shaken up. Sure, she had seen some bad things in her life; people being killed in knife fights, people starving, and much more. But for some reason, it never prepared her for the reality of being raped. She was slightly beat up, and Serena, Raye, and Lita bandaged her wounds. They shared their food with her, even though they had so little. She remembered Serena saying chipperly that they would just have to work a little harder to get more food. Before she knew it, Ami had been adopted into the group. She felt happy then; something she couldn't remember ever having felt before. She had friends. Real friends.  
  


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Mina: Mina was far from a dumb blond. Like Serena, by the time she was 12 she was a tough girl, never showing her emotions to anyone. She had been taken in by a group of female fighters living on the streets of St. Martin's town. The androids had heard of these fighters, and the twins from hell themselves came to see if these warriors were any competition. Of course, they weren't. The women hid Mina in an alley while they fought the androids. Mina couldn't see anything, but heard the blasts of energy from the Androids and the screams from her guardians.  
If she hadn't met Serena two years later, she would have been a lost cause. She still thinks that Serena saved her soul. Even when Serena had found her, she was like an empty shell, feeling no emotions but cold hatred. After meeting the other girls and becoming their friends, she started to loosen up, like Serena had. The five girls were best friends. They cried together and for each other. They were there as a shoulder to lean on, a hand to pull you up. They were there as a friend to comfort you when you were down. The hardships they went through over the years only strengthened their bond.  
  


**************************************************  


  
_FLASHBACK:_  
  
"Yeehaw!" Serena whooped as she shot another android with a round of bullets. She felt like a cowgirl.  
They were all nineteen; a year had passed since they had decided to become freedom fighters. Now that the main Androids had started sending weaker androids to do their bidding, they were having some fun blowin' them up. Serena grinned as she flipped over an android before it's ball of energy could disintegrate her. These Androids were so easy. They didn't move a fourth as fast, weren't as powerful, and definitely weren't as smart. She jumped back into the air the second she landed, narrowly avoiding another energy ball. While still in the air, she shot the Android in the head, chest, and stomach. Circuits crackled as it was electrocuted.  
The other girls were having fun with the other six androids. They main Androids had started sending more once they found that there were people opposing them. But that was ok with Serena; more fun for them. She watched as Lita and Mina double teamed a purple haired android. Lita was sending rapid punches at it, forcing it to block; it was good that this one wasn't super fast like some of the others. While it was too distracted to send out energy beams or balls, (and those REALLY hurt!!) Mina snuck up behind it and slipped a bomb into it's shirt. (Serena still wonders why they bother with clothes and human appearances.)  
Mina and Lita ran as fast as they could away from the android, who looked a little surprised by the sudden retreat. The 'Mina Surprise', as Mina liked to call it, kicked in and the Android exploded. Mina was quite proud of her invention; she and Ami had found some great chemical reactions to the Androids while experimenting on *ahem* spare *ahem* Android parts they had collected after a battle.  
Serena was watching the battle so intently, she almost missed the new android coming at her.  
Almost.  
Can you say, 'Bye Bye Android'?  
  
_END FLASHBACK_  
  


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The girls piled into a supply train after it had been loaded. It was starting to move slowly by the time Lita had broken the lock off the door. It was a fairly cheap lock; in these hard times you couldn't get much better. They jumped into the rising car and slammed the door shut behind them.  
They had taken a fairly small train so the chances of being intercepted by the Androids were small. The Androids liked to destroy passenger filled airplanes and trains. Luckily, they ignored most supply trains now. They were more interested in gathering slaves than killing and keeping away essential supplies. Serena hoped they wouldn't take over the train to use for transporting slaves; they had done once with a train the girls were riding on. Luckily, they managed to escape; the androids taking over the train were too strong for them to fight.  
Serena leaned back into the sacks of food with a sigh. It was amazing how some people still managed to get food to transport to the towns that had not been destroyed. She looked over at the other girls. Lita was loading her guns and strapping them to her waist and thighs. Raye was going over their Ammo supplies. Ami was examining a weapon that one of the last Androids they had destroyed had been carrying. Mina had fallen asleep, her Magnum M20 close to her side. Serena sighed again and look over her guns. She had a pretty good collection, and was proud to add a strong, bazooka-like gun to her collection. She had taken it off a weak android a few days before. It would be hard to get ammo for, but could pack quite a wallop.  
She took a deep breath, enjoying the fresh air that came in through the vents, and put her hands behind her head. She closed her eyes and thought about all that had happened since they had become the Moonlight Senshi. Slowly, she drifted off to sleep.  


*********************************************  
  


Three hours later, the Moonlight senshi were walking down the nearly deserted streets of St. Martins. They found a warehouse to stay it. Several people were staying there, but they gladly made room for the freedom fighters. The girls were given the latest news on what was happening.  
Androids had been taking away people, most likely for slaves, but no one knew for certain. They would just grab people and use a kind of gas that made them black out. Then they would put the people in trucks and take them away. Many people had fled to other cities, but they didn't get far. The androids had begun to block the exits to the town. Others had gone into hiding.  
They asked about the strength of the Androids, but no one knew for certain. They did not fight at all. Serena held a meeting with the other girls after the other people were asleep.  
"Ok, this is bad. The ways out of the city are being blocked, and we don't even know if we can beat these guys. Usually, we strike, do some damage, and get the hell out of town before they send reinforcements. So, now, if we attack, we either A. Get our asses kicked by these guys, or B. Get our asses kicked by the stronger reinforcements they will send as soon as they see we're there. And with no where to go..... this sucks."  
"As much as I hate to say it, we should probably just hide until they are gone and not help anyone." Ami said slowly.  
"Yeah, but then we run the risk of being made into slaves. Personally, I'd rather die." Serena stated. The others nodded in agreement.  
"Hang on, if we can find out how strong the androids are, we may be able to fight them _and _bust through their defenses around the city." Raye said.  
"That's true, but it's going to be hard to find they're power level. Ami used to be able to find it on her computer, but they are harder to read now." Lita replied.  
"Actually guys, I've been working with my computer and those new android parts. While we were on the train, I was able to decode the power levels. It's a rough estimate, but we should be able to tell if we can beat them or not." Ami said.  
"Ok girls, here is the plan," Serena said. "Tomorrow, we will all go to scout the city exits. We'll find out how many androids are at each exit, and Ami, you find out how strong they are. If we can beat them, or at least distract them enough to get away, we'll see how strong the ones in the city are. We have to be careful; if they see us and they are too strong, we'll be captured. We'll stay far away and use those new binoculars we got that can see for half a mile. Ami, will you be able to get a reading from there?"  
"Yes, I'll be able to tell their power level, as well as approximately how many of them there are."  
"Good. Well then, tonight we need rest. We might be in for some action tomorrow."  
The others agreed and settled on the floor to sleep. Serena stayed up a little longer thinking about the upcoming days. She was always worried about what would happen; she didn't really care about what happened to herself, but when they were taking chances like they were then, she worried for her friends. She sighed. Sometimes she thought it would be so much easier if she had fought solo; she wouldn't have survived, but she wouldn't have had to worry about her friends. She knew they were strong and could take care of themselves, but some of the androids were stronger.   
She smiled slightly. Who was she kidding? She would have died from loneliness before she had even started fighting the androids. She was very lucky to have her friends. And that was why she knew she couldn't bare to lose them. Many days she would train long and hard without the others knowing; she knew she had to be as strong as possible to protect them. If she was unprepared, they could get hurt— or killed. She would sometimes leave for several days and go to other towns to fight androids. Not the big groups, just one or two at a time before she would move on.  
One thing that always got her down was the knowledge that though they kept fighting, they weren't winning. The main androids could keep building more followers to attack and destroy. She told herself that she was getting stronger, and that one day she would be able to fight the main androids, but she knew this wasn't so. They had power. She was only human; even the Saiyans had lost to them. They were much faster than a human could possibly be, even though Serena was faster and stronger than it seemed possible for a human, how could she win against robots?  
So what was she doing? Saving some people so they could live a few more years? Stop the androids from annihilated a city for awhile? No matter what she did to stop them, eventually they would do it anyway. But she couldn't stop. If she only just annoyed the androids, it would be worth it. If she made them spend more time and resources making new androids, so be it. It was the best she could do, and she wasn't about to stop it.  
Though she had slept on the train, she found herself yawning. She curled up into a ball on the hard wood floor and was soon asleep.  
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END CHAPTER 1  
  
Yes, this **WILL get MUCH better**, next chapter they will be captured, then in a few chapters is the romance. THIS IS THE R version, The NC-17 version will come up when I get to that part, but please note that it is nothing reaaallly extreme, sorry...  
Please review, I just want to know what you think and if you want me to continue!  
Saw somethings that need corrections? Something confusing? E-MAIL ME!!!! EternalMoonAngel@tuxedomask.com  
Chapter two will be out on the 21st at the soonest, this friday (the 23rd) at the latest.


	3. Chapter 2

AN: Chapter two!!! Don't you just love me for getting these out so fast? (It helps that do to an bad sickness I am not going to school and am being tutored until April and have a LOT of free time.)  
To answer some review questions— YES! I GOT MY FIRST REVIEWS!!! I'M SO HAPPY!!! I WAS SO EXCITED TO SEE THEM, I ALMOST CRIED!!!! Um, anyway,   
1. I have decided that Trunks will be in it, but not yet.   
2. Serena is not a Saiyan. I'm not sure if she's going to be a Lunarian or what, but she will have some sort of power.  
I was so happy when I saw some of my favorite DBZ/SM crossover authors review!!! ^_^ Thanks to the people who reviewed, (if your not on here sorry, I must have posted this chapter before you reviewed.)  
THANKS TO: Saiya-jin no Hime, Dragon-chan^^, fireflyangel, Teardrop, Spooky Fyre , Kiku Ilu, k, Blue Rhapsody, and Fyrefly. Sorry to the rest of you, didn't mean to bore you!!! =)  
Oh, and I figured out the loading thing, thanks everyone!  
Ok, Disclaimer: Don't own em. Don't sue me.  
Aaaannnnnndddd: STORY!!!!  
  
**CHAPTER TWO**  
  
"17, we have blocked off the exits to the five cities they are most likely in."  
"Very good Delta. Do the droids know their orders?"  
"Yes sir. The Gama droids in the cities will send out a transmission to the Delta droids around the cities if and when the Senshi strike. The Delta droids will call the Beta droids to reinforce the city exits while the fight is still taking place. When they are seen trying to leave, we will let them see how many of us there are and how strong they are, but we will not go after them or let them know that we have noticed them. The exits will remained blocked until you give the orders to withdraw."  
"Very good. 18 and myself will be in the city taking care of the senshi ourselves. After we are done, you may continue to collect slaves."  
"Yes sir."  
"That is all. You may go now."  
"Yes sir."  
After the Delta droid had left, a figure stepped out of the shadows.  
"I don't know whether I like it better to have droids serving us, or when we actually did everything ourselves. It was fun before. Now it is getting boring." It said in a feminine voice.  
"Yes, this world has lost it's entertainment for me as well. But soon we will be able to find other things to occupy us." said the first android.  
"That's true. And dealing with those pesky senshi should prove entertaining. I wonder, should we torture them or just kill them?"  
"I was thinking we would make them slaves. They are more than strong enough. And to really make them suffer, they will be our _personal_ slaves."  
"Ha! Serving those they have sworn to get revenge on. I like it. They'll really hate that."  
"I'm sure they will soon become submissive to us; we have dealt with defiance before, and we always manage to break it."  
"Yes, this will definitely be entertaining...."  
  


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Serena leaned back against the wall on the roof. They were on an old school roof, scanning the androids guarding the city. Raye and Lita were leaning over the wall with the binoculars, trying to count the androids and see what kind of defenses they had set up. Ami was busying taking readings on her pocket-sized computer, and Mina was trying to read the data over her shoulder. As the codes zoomed by, Mina blinked in confusion before settling down next to Serena with a sigh.  
"I don't know _how _she understands that."  
"Well, she _is_ a genius, Mina," Serena said, closing her eyes. "She just has a talent for that kind of stuff."  
About ten minutes later, Ami told the group that she had completed her readings. Raye and Lita said that they had gotten enough information as well. Without opening her eyes, Serena said "Report."  
"I read about ten to fifteen androids. They are fairly low in power, but it will be hard to fight so many. However, we could break through their defenses and get away, I believe." Ami said.  
"That would work," said Raye. "They don't have much of a formation, and they look kinda unorganized. It shouldn't be a problem catching them off guard." Lita nodded in agreement. Serena opened one eye.  
"In comparison to the androids we've fought before, how strong are these?" she asked Ami.  
"They are stronger than some we've fought, but a little weaker than the ones we've been fighting the past few months." Ami replied.  
"Alright, then we'll see how strong the androids in the city are before we make a final decision. First, I would like to scout at least one more exit, just to make sure that it is the same." Serena said. "Raye and Ami, you too go do that. Lita, Mina, and myself will try to work out a rough plan. When you are done, meet us back here. Then we will go find the city droids."  
The group split up to preform they're duties. Serena watched Ami and Raye sneak along the streets in the shadows. She always hated splitting up the group; she didn't like the thought of someone being attacked or captured while she wasn't around, but she thought it was pretty safe right then. Besides, the other girls had told her that they were ok going out by themselves sometimes, and not to worry about them. Serena didn't want them to think that she didn't trust them, but she still worried.  
She turned her attention back to Lita and Mina and they started to work out a plan.  
  


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Raye kicked open the rotting door. The building, what ever it had been, was falling apart. She and Ami ducking under the collapsing door frame and into the building. They looked around for stairs, but couldn't see any.  
"Great," Raye muttered. "How are we suppose to get to the roof without any stairs?"  
Ami started coughing from all the dust in the air.  
"Maybe *wheeze* we should find another building." she gasped.  
Raye nodded and headed for the door. She was about to step out when she saw several droids flying towards them. She stepped rushed backwards and bumped into Ami.  
"Raye? What—" Raye silenced her by clamping one hand over her mouth. She pulled Ami over to the wall beside the door and pressed her back up against it. She put her finger to her lips before removing her hand from Ami's mouth, and put her own back against the wall. Slowly, she moved her head closer to the doorway, and peered outside, The droids were flying slowly down the street, floating low to the ground. They were talking to each other about collecting slaves.  
"Droids?" Ami whispered. Raye nodded. Ami pulled out her computer to get a reading. The droids passed and Raye let out a sigh of relief. She looked back over at Ami, who was still typing away at the computer.  
"Any readings?" Raye asked quietly in case their were more droids around. "Yes, but it will take me a few minutes to decode them," Ami replied. Raye watched out the door for more droids.  
"Got it!" Ami whispered a few minutes later. "These are actually even weaker than the others. More powerful than the ones were first fought, but easy enough. I think we fought them before, and they were labeled 'Gama' ... I think that is in reference to their power. For example, Delta would be harder the Gama. Alpha would be the strongest, besides the main ones."  
Raye nodded. "That's good, we may be able to have a little fun here after all." She flashed a quick smile at her friend, before ducking out of the building. Ami followed, and they started creeping along in the shadows to another building.  
"That one looks like it has a sturdy roof, and it's far enough away from the south city exit." Ami pointed to another building."  
"Ok, come on, we'll get more readings from there."  
  


*****************************************  


  
"No, that won't work, what if we aren't near the South End?"  
"Ok, maybe not."  
"I say we just sneak over to the closest exit after we're done destroying some in the city, and we distract them by throwing a bomb. While they are checking it out, we get away. If we need to fight them, there will only be a few still there and we can just shoot 'em while we're running."  
"That's a good plan Mina, but then they could catch up to us. They're faster than we are, and besides, they don't tire out like humans do. We need a way to either not be seen by them at all, or distract them for awhile so we can hide somewhere. Or destroy the ones that do see us, if there aren't too many, but then once the others see them destroyed they will guess what happened and come after us."  
"You're right Serena. It sounds good, it just needs some work. Can you make more bombs today, Mina?"  
"Sure! I'll get on them as soon as we figure out what we're going to do."  
The three girls were still on the roof, hidden behind a wall. No one could see them unless they were flying, but so far they had only seen one droid, and it was flying low.  
"Too bad Ami isn't here, we could have gotten a reading." Lita had muttered.  
"Maybe they'll see some they can scan, or else we'll get it when she comes back. Don't worry about, Lita." Mina had said cheerfully. Serena had worried about Ami and Raye, but the other two reasoned that they had only seen one droid in the last hour, so there wasn't much of a threat. Besides, they were both loaded with guns.  
Serena then started to worry that if they did have too fight, the guns would attract more droids, but she decided not to worry when Lita bopped her on the head and told her that they would be fine. She didn't want to annoy Lita. She was the cook. Serena chuckled at this thought, and the other two looked at her quizzically.  
"Nothing," she said quickly. "Come on, let's get back to work on the plan."  
Serena put on her relaxed and care-free look, but she couldn't shake the feeling of dread...  
  


****************************************   


  
"Same readings here than at the Western Exit," Ami said.  
"They look even less organized than the others!" Raye snorted. "And I thought droids were suppose to be perfect."  
"No, just the originals," Ami said with a smile. "The others are just cheap copies used against people who are weaker."  
"Bastards," Raye muttered. Ami sent her a sympathetic glance. "Come on, let's get back. It's already afternoon, and Serena's probably getting impatient to start the fight."  
They both grinned. Serena loved destroying droids. It really seemed like she had fun, which wasn't something they saw a whole lot otherwise. Sure, she was happy sometimes, but they never really got the opportunity for fun, except when they would stay up late chatting like normal schoolgirls. Sometimes it worried Raye that the time she looked happiest was when she was destroying droids, but she could relate. There wasn't much else to be happy about in their world.  
She got lost in her thoughts as they headed back to the old school roof top. Ami had to pull her out of the way once when a droid was coming. After it was gone, Raye swore.  
"Shit! I can't believe I let my guard down!!"  
"It's alright Raye, it happens sometimes," Ami said gently.  
Raye snorted. "Not really. You don't _ever _let your guard down in this world. Damn!"  
Ami gave her a sympathetic look. "Thinking about Serena?"  
"Yeah." Raye sighed. "I worry about her sometimes."  
"Don't worry. She can take care of herself. And she has us. It's not a good life, but she's doing alright."  
"I know." Raye smiled at her friend. "I just like to worry about my friends. Come on, let's keep moving."  
Raye pretended everything was alright, but for some reason, she had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach...  
  


****************************************  


  
"Ok, so we'll have no trouble with the droids in the city. Once we take out a group of them— we can't stay and fight too long, or all the droids around the city will be on our backs— then we will head towards the nearest exit as fast as we can, avoiding all other androids. When we near the exit we will scout the droids and see if there is any activity among them. If they were warned, they might by getting together to prepare for us, or they might head into the city to try and intercept us. If it's the second, we have no problem. If it's the first, or if they don't know anything and are still just guarding the gate, this is the plan:  
"Mina and Lita will be setting off bombs just inside the exit and pretty far off to one side. Then they will go farther into the city as fast and as discreetly as they can. The will double back and meet us by the exit, at which time we will make our escape together."  
"Hang on Serena; what if while you're waiting for Mina and me, you lose your opportunity to get through?"  
"Then we get another plan. No one is going to be left behind, and I'm not taking any chances." Lita sighed, but knew better than to argue. Serena would win it anyway.  
"Now," Serena continued, "If there are droids left guarding the gates, we will try to get past them, or destroy them before they know what hit them. If we see we cannot get out, we will try to use the distraction to get out another way. I know it's a rough plan, but seeing how they aren't that strong, the chances of being over-powered are slim. Does everyone agree with the plan? Any comments? Suggestions? Problems?" The others shook their heads. "Alright then. Since it's already late afternoon, I think it would be best if we get some rest and carry out the plan tomorrow morning. We'll stay in the school."  
  


****************************************  


  
An hour later, Lita was busy cooking with the food supplies they had brought. Mina and Raye were training together. Ami was typing away at her computer, gathering all the info she could on the latest droid attacks in other cities. Serena was off in a corner of the building, practicing kicks on a wall. All of them were thinking about the next day.  
Normally, they wouldn't have been worried. All the droids were pretty easy to beat for them; normal humans wouldn't stand a chance, but they were much stronger. They didn't know why; they trained a lot, but they still seemed to be stronger than humanly possible. But still, this time they were worried. Not because the plan was risky; they had carried out much riskier plans before, and narrowly escaped death many times. But for some reason, this time was different. Though they did not mention it to the others, each of the girls had a bad feeling....  
  


****************************************  


  
Out beyond the city boundaries, beyond the range of Ami's computer, the Beta droids waited for their orders. The were tougher than those the senshi had faced before. They were the second strongest droids, weaker than the Alpha droids and the main Androids only. They were much stronger than humans, and unfortunately for the human race, they were stronger than the senshi. They stood immobile in their ranks. Unlike the Androids, who were human-based, the droids had no organic properties at all, so they could be made faster and they wouldn't rebel on their creators as Android 17 and Android 18 had.  
As the moon rose high into the sky, they waited for dawn.  
  
***************************************************************************************  
END CHAPTER 2  
  
AN: I hope you liked it!! (Now that I'm getting reviews from people saying they liked it, I have this fear that I will disappoint you guys!!! *o*! )  
Question: Is this size of writing ok for everyone? If you want it bigger, just put it in the review. Please review, no matter what you think! It will only take a second! I just want to know what you think!  
I know this is shorter than the last, but it wasn't too short, was it?  
Ok, enough chatter. Chapter 3 will be out by Friday, Saturday at the latest.


	4. Chapter 3

DWchap3

AN: Chapter 3!! Don't you just love me? SORRY I KNOW THIS IS LATE, I have been SOOOOOOO busy!!! Ok, a few things here:  
I just wanted to wanted to tell you that last chapter, when 17 and 18 where talking about making the senshi their slaves, **IT WAS NOT SUPPOSE TO IMPLY ANYTHING SEXUAL!!!** I had just realized it might sound like that after I posted it. I hope no one read that and thought *um, ok, maybe I should just stop reading this...* It was **NOT** suppose to mean anything like that!! There will be sexual references in her, but again, nothing explicit in this version, and nothing extreme in the NC-17 version, which I will do when I get to that part. There also is no rape or anything.  
Ok, I felt kinda weird writing that, but I just wanted to clear that up. **ALSO** I know I said that they would be captured last chapter, but they weren't, sorry about that! _Next _ chapter they are captured.  
Disclaimer: Alright, I might stop these, because I said them in the last chapters and it's the same story! ANYWAY, I don't own them, so you can't sue me, so NAAAAAAHHHH!!! *sticks tongue out*  
  
QUICK NOTES:  
' = thinking. (half a quotation mark.)  
AND HERE'S THE STORY!!  
  
**CHAPTER 3**  
  
Five girls peered out from different hiding places at the droids. There were only six of them; not very strong ones either. The droids had just come across a group of homeless girls, and were advancing on the scared group. One of the five girls hiding nodded to the others. She jumped out of her hiding place and began shooting at the droids. The other four girls followed suit.   
They didn't know what they were in for.  
  


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Serena jumped out from behind the building, shooting at the droids before they could so much as turn around. She saw bullets fly past her at the droids, and knew her friends had joined in. The group of homeless girls snuck away, and the senshi were careful not to hit them. They didn't send any shots that way in case a droid dodged and it hit them.  
Serena had a gun in each hand, and was shooting like there was no tomorrow. A third of the bullets hit armor and didn't damage the droid, but the others hit home. She didn't miss a shot. The other girls were having as much success as she was, and the droids were destroyed in less than two minutes. Serena slid one gun into a holster at her waist and kept the other one ready. She made a motion with her head to tell the others to follow, and started running down an alley. As fast as she was, she made sure the others could catch up, and they were soon running beside her. At the end of the alley, instead of running out, she threw herself against the wall without even slowing down. The others were not surprised by this, and did the same.  
Serena peered around the wall of the alley. When she was sure the coast was clear, she beckoned to the others and slid around the wall and into the street. She stayed in the shadows of the buildings, her back still pressed up against the wall. They kept going until they reached a nook in the wall and slipped in.   
"Ok," Serena whispered, "Here's the plan. We got rid of those so fast, we can still get more. We head towards the West exit. If we see more, we take them out. Then we follow the plan. If it seems that we can take out all the droids at the gate quickly, we will do that and get out of there before backups can come. Understood?" Four heads nodded. "Any problems? Suggestions?" They all shook their heads. Serena always wanted to make sure everyone was ok with the plans; if they weren't, she would always change them. "Good. Let's go."  
Once again, they crept into the shadows of the street and made their way to the west gate.  
  


****************************************  


  
"Droids ahead, type Gama, about seven. No humans nearby." Ami told the group. "About forty feet north-west." Ami had explained type Gama to the group earlier, so everyone knew what she meant.  
"Everyone willing to fight them?" Serena asked. Everyone nodded. "Good; we'll ambush them if we can. We'll move fast; we don't want them sensing us and ambushing _us_."  
They started running. They were faster than humans, but not as fast as the androids, unfortunately. They stayed in the shadows and kept alert in case there were droids with cloaked energy that Ami's computer couldn't pick up.  
Serena raced ahead, feeling the wind whip at her long hair, which was currently up in a looped braid. She barely felt the road beneath her feet as she ran, legs pumping, a fierce, determined look in her eyes. She saw the droids ahead of her as she turned a corner. Still running at full speed, she made her plan. She flipped into the air and over a low wall of rubble from a crumbling building, flipping over in the air until she came to land behind the droids. Before she had fully landed, she was shooting with one gun and taking the other out of it's holster. The droids spun around and began to shoot back at her with guns forming from their arms. {AN: any one seen the betrayers from Cleopatra 2525?}  
Serena silently cursed at this new feature. She ducked and did a somersault behind another wall and immediately resumed shooting from her new shelter. She saw the other girls out of the corner of their eye. They ran up and ducked behind walls and mounds of rubble before started their assault on the droids. There were eight of them, but two quickly went down under Serena's rapid fire, and another followed shortly thanks to Lita's new MXT, which hit pretty hard. Serena inwardly groaned and sent a mental message to Lita to save the ammo for the ones around the city. Unfortunately, as skilled as the girls were, telepathy was not something they could do. Serena just hoped that Lita had enough ammo left later, or ammo for something more powerful. She smiled as she saw Lita switching to another gun after only a few shots.  
'I know she has more ammo than that for the MXT, which means she's saving some. Good.' Serena knew she shouldn't have worried; Lita was smart when it came to gun handling and ammo stores. But today she seemed to be worrying about everything. 'Oh brother, I'm turning into a paranoid worry-wart,' she thought in exasperation as she took down another droid with Ami's help. An energy blast hit the wall right beside her and she ducked behind the wall, heart racing. 'oh god, the was close. I wish we had more protection. Gotta stay alert, Sere.'  
She stuck her head and hands back around the wall and kept shooting. The next energy blast would have taken her head off if she hadn't been paying attention, but she threw herself behind the wall in time. This was harder now that they had those gun slash arms. She risked taking a look at the others when she started shooting again. They were alright; just a little bruised. Raye's hair was tousled and she had a small cut on her forehead where she must have been hit by some flying rubble. Serena made a mental note to take a look at it later. There were indentations in the mound of rubble she was behind, where energy blasts had hit. In fact, all the girls hiding places had indentations, but none had gone through.  
Lita and Mina looked a little worn out, but they were fine. Ami had a scratch on her left arm that was causing her to shoot with only her right gun. Serena saw all this in less than twenty seconds. Any longer and she would have been hit by another energy blast coming her way. When she came out for the third (?) time to shoot, she saw that there was only one left. With shots from Lita, Raye, and herself, the droid blew up. Mina cheered.  
"Hah! An explosion! We got an explosion! Woo hoo!" She and Lita shared a high five. The other girls came out from their shelters, Ami busy typing on her computer before she had reached the others.  
"No sign of other droids within the vicinity, besides the ones guarding the West exit," she reported, lifting her head from the screen.  
"Good, then let's go." Serena made a running leap over another wall of rubble and started jogging towards the west exit. She didn't run like she had before. She knew that now they were getting closer to the exit, they might meet up with more droids, and they had to take it slow so they didn't run into any. They could take out a few, but if they ran into a big group, they were in trouble. Besides, without the advantage of surprise, they could easily be hurt.  
  
The set off in the shadows, Ami still scanning for droids. Lita was trying to examine Raye's cut as they went, and Raye was trying her best to get Lita to leave her alone. Raye told Lita that she was fine, and they could take care of it later, and besides, Ami's was worse. Lita immediately rounded on Ami, who protested that it was just a scratch. Mina tugged down her pants, which had been rolled up to above her knees, so that she could cover a cut on her leg before Lita saw it. Serena saw what was happening and tugged part of her hair from the doubled ponytail so that it would cover a light gash on her temple. She hadn't even noticed it until after the fight had ended.  
Lita was now trying to wrestle a med-kit out of Ami's pack, and Ami was insisted she was fine and they didn't have time to stop. Lita countered that she would take care of it while they were walking, but Ami said that it would slow them down and that she needed to concentrate on her scanning anyway. Lita grumbled and dropped the med-kit back into the pack. Ami reached behind her and closed the pack securely.  
"Guys, remember to keep it down, ok? We don't want droids ambushing us." Serena reminded them. The others nodded and Lita apologized. Serena turned her attention back to the streets, mentally thanking whatever powers were left in their forsaken world that Lita hadn't seen _her _ cut. It wasn't that bad; not deep enough to get stitches. But it was fairly wide and didn't look to pleasant. She grinned as she thought what Lita would say.  
"What?!? You're hurt Serena! No, don't give me that 'It's Nothing' routine, that _is_ something! Ami, give me that med-kit! No, I know you need to concentrate, but I will take care of Serena and Raye while you scan. I won't slow us down, I promise. Now give me that med-kit or I'll take it myself and then take care of you too!"  
Serena chuckled under her breath, but no one heard. Ami was busy scanning for doids on her computer, Lita was looking around warily with her guns ready, and Mina and Raye were discussing strategies as they walked. Serena heard Mina saying something about her bombs, and she turned around.  
"Speaking of bombs, you do have them, right Mina?" she asked.  
"Right, I just have to add the chemical that makes 'em go BOOM and we're all set."  
Serena nodded. "Good." She turned around and started walking again. "We're almost there. We're going to have to hurry when we get there before they sense us. Those knew gadgets that can sense us are REALLY annoying, and we don't want to get caught."  
Suddenly Ami gasped. "Oh my god... no... This can't be right!" Serena spun around to look at her. Ami was typing furiously at her computer, leaving Serena to wonder once again how she could type so fast with such a small computer and not miss any keys or press extra ones. "Oh no... it has to be a mistake.... it's not possible... is it?"  
"What? What happened, Ami?" Raye asked, a little frantically.  
Ami looked up, her face pale. "I just picked up about forty new droids at the West exit. They came out of no where! I should have picked them up when they were farther away, but it's like they just teleported there from a long way away, but they CAN'T teleport, and even if they COULD I would have picked up an energy reading. But they just... appeared there!! And these are stronger! Stronger than any we've faced before!"  
"How much stronger, Ami," Serena asked quietly.  
"I don't know... but even if they were the weakest... we could never take on forty," Ami replied in a shaky voice.  
Serena turned away so the others wouldn't see her pale face. The others just starred wide eyed at Ami in shock. Serena sighed.  
"Should we try our original plan? See if they all leave?" she asked Ami, not turning to face her.  
"No... With forty of them, they wouldn't all leave... and they will have better equipment. They would probably be able to sense us right away and come after us."  
Mina gasped and took a step back, and Raye put a comforting hand on her shoulder.  
"First," said Ami slowly, "We should see if they're there." Serena turned to look at her with confusion in her eyes. "It might be a trick," Ami explained. "There might be something making my computer think they are there." Serena nodded.  
"We'll go back a ways and take a look from a roof-top. If they are there, let's make sure there are forty and not a lot less. Ami, you use your visor to make sure some of them aren't holograms. They could have messed up your computer and set up holograms so that we _think_ they are there, but they aren't. Next, we'll try the other exits. Agreed?" Serena turned to look at the other girls  
"I agree," said Ami, "but what if they aren't real but they aren't holograms? What if they are robots, but they don't actually do anything?"  
"Well," said Serena slowly, "with your visor you can find out if they are robots or just holograms or made of something else... you should also be able to see some of their circuits, right?" Ami nodded. "Well, then you can see if they are actually functioning droids or just hunks of metal." Serena sighed again. "Of course, they may just be the weakest droids that make your computer think they are much stronger... but even so, with that many we won't stand a chance. Alright, does that sound good Ami?"  
"Yes, we should be able to find out more about them that way. It sounds like a good plan."  
"Alright, then let's go."  
  


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"No holograms. All droids. All functioning. I'm trying to see if I can find out their power from their circuits." Ami reported.  
"Alright, if they're all real, then Lita and I will count them," said Raye. She grabbed one of the pairs of binoculars and kneeled in front of the wall. The were on a roof top about half a mile away from the West exit. Raye rested her elbows on the top of the crumbling wall and started to count the androids. Lita did the same.  
"I count thirty five," Raye said ten minutes later. But it's a little hard to tell with all their moving around, and some are behind others, so it's a rough estimate."  
"I counted thirty nine the first time, and forty one the second," Lita added. Serena sighed. This was not good.  
"I guess then it doesn't really matter how strong they are, but what did you get, Ami?"  
"I couldn't tell from the circuits I saw through my visor, so I tried different things with my computer," she said as she unhooked her visor. "I tried several different things to over ride a signal, or to fix bugs, but it is always the same. They are stronger than the others we've faced."  
Serena sighed and covered her face with her hands. "This is not good," she moaned.  
"It'll be ok, Serena," said Lita.  
"Yeah, it always is. We'll get out of this!" Mina added cheerfully. Serena dropped her hands and smiled at her friends.  
"Thank you. You guys always say the right things." She stood up and stretched. "We should find somewhere to hide. The other gates will be the same. When they find out we're here, they will be after us faster than.... ah, whatever. Anyway, we need to go." The others nodded and they climbed down the stairs from the roof. With a sigh, Serena plopped herself onto a chunk of concrete.  
"Alright, let's see; we can't leave the city. They will most likely search every building and every alley even if they have to lift up the roofs of the buildings. The park is barren; no trees, no plants, no nothing. I don't know how we could hide there. Any ideas?"  
"Maybe... we could go to the sewers? It's not pleasant, but I don't know where else we'll go,..." Ami suggested. Serena looked up.  
"Yes, that's perfect! We can get out through the sewers! It's the only way. Everyone agree?" Everyone agreed heartily. There was a time when they wouldn't have even considered going into the sewer, but they knew it was their only choice. Their only hope.  
"Ok, we'll rest here for twenty minutes. We can use that time to clean our wounds, if you are one that has some. After that, be ready to go." Serena said.  
  


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A half hour later, Lita was struggling with a manhole cover.  
"Damn! They sealed it shut! Look!" She pointed to the edges of the cover. Sure enough, someone had melted the iron, and now the manhole cover and the iron frame where one piece of metal.  
"Damn, and we don't have anything to break the seal. Our guns won't shoot through that, and even if they could, they would have made sure to reinforce it," Serena said.  
"So what are we going to do?" Mina asked, fear evident in her voice.  
"Let's look for more. They may have missed one. Man, I wish they hadn't collapsed all the underground subways." Raye said.  
"Good idea, they may have missed some that were under rubble. We'll stick to small streets. Of we see a gap between manholes that could have another manhole in it, we can look under the rubble. Everyone good with that?" Everyone said they did. "Good. Now, we'll stick together, I don't want to split up when there are droids on our tails. Besides, we have no one of contacting one another. If we don't fine one today, we find somewhere to stay for the night and try again tomorrow."  
They started searching empty streets. The streets they were in were hidden by shadows, and littered with rubble. They hoped that the droids wouldn't find them there. Ami was scanning for droids and also the metals found in the manhole covers while the others looked. She would know the second any droids came within one hundred feet of them, unless their energy was cloaked, which was what they had decided had been on the new droids at the city exit. They had to be pretty powerful to cloak their energy. So all the girls were alert in case any of those droids was nearby.  
As they searched, they had no idea they were being watched.  
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Please review! No matter what you think! Please? It can be really short, just one word if you want!! It only takes a second!!!! THANKS!


	5. Chapter 4

DW ch.4

**Dire World****  
**

  
AN: Here's a new chapter. Don't you all just love me?  
**Important: **Here I am going to be responding to some questions and comments made in the reviews, as well as telling you about up-coming chapters. **Be Sure to Read This.** First of all, Trunks WILL be in this, but not for a few more chapters. This is NOT a Trunks/Serena romance, (SORRY!!!) but please read it anyway, I think you'll like it even if it isn't the couple you prefer. I will be writing a Trunks/Serena fic later on, so you can read that. Also, someone asked about the Z-senshi. They are not in this. This is Mirai Trunks's future, so they are all dead. HOWEVER, this is not exactly the same as it was in the show.  
DISCLAIMER: YOU KNOW THE DRILL!!  
P.S. I'm sorry LM! I don't mean to be evil!! You'll find out in this chapter who was watching them!**  
  
  
CHAPTER 4  
  
**"Shit!" Serena cursed as she sent a kick at an old brick wall. The force of the kick sent the loose bricks tumbling, and Serena jumped back just in time to avoid having her feet crushed. "Damn!" she swore. She turned back to the others who had stopped what they were doing to stare at her. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make so much noise," she said apologetically.  
"That's alright," Mina said with false cheerfulness. "We're below ground, so probably no one heard that. And if they did, they would think it's normal. Walls collapse all the time. We're lucky we found a basement with a stable roof." She gestured to the ceiling in demonstration. "Just don't kick down one of the walls to the outside!" she joked.  
"Yeah, you're right. I am just so _annoyed_! I want to scream and curse and kill something! Or at least destroy something." Serena sighed and started pacing for at least the fifth time that day. "We searched _all_ day, and nothing! No sewers to go into, no subways, no where to hide except here. And they very well may find us here!"  
They had stopped the search for ways to get into the sewers when night had fallen. The started looking for nooks and crannies in the rubble of demolished buildings for a place that the droids might not look. They had finally found a basement under a demolished building that was still whole. It seemed it's walls and ceiling were reinforced with something. It was totally hidden by the rubble, and Mina had found it when her foot had gotten caught between two chunks of rubble. Moving the stone, their had been a sort of stairway to the basement. They checked it out, and once they were sure it was safe, had settled in. The hid the entrance and prayed the droids wouldn't look in the rubble and that the advanced droids wouldn't scan for them.  
Luckily— and a little oddly— they had not seen any trace of the droids while they were searching for intact manholes. They would have definitely known about the girls by then, if not from a signal from the droids they fought, then from the droid debris. Most other people were too scared to fight the droids, and besides, they weren't strong enough or fast enough. It had more than a year since someone other than the Moonlight Senshi had fought the droids.  
Lita went back to cooking dinner. Their food supplies were low, so they ate little at every meal. This was dangerous for them, because without proper amounts of food, they were weaker and couldn't fight as well. They had also resorted to eating things that weren't exactly food. Things that they had eaten back before they were the senshi. Stuck in the city, they couldn't savage for food in the wilderness. They hadn't resorted to eating rats yet, but they knew that would come very soon if they couldn't get out. That night they were eating more roots, squashed berries, and a very small amount of salted fish. The fish was old, but they couldn't complain. The people in the city were eating rats and weed soup for the most part.  
Raye was pacing with a gun in her hand at one end of the basement while Serena was pacing at the other. Ami was still scanning for droids, trying different ways to pick them up. She was also using her computer as a way to find food and gather any new information on the droids. Mina was sitting down for a few minutes, then pacing, then was sprawled out on the floor, then was pacing, then started training. She threw punches and kicks at an imaginary opponent for a few minutes before going over to see if Lita needed any help cooking. Lita had her make a sort of soup with some spices Lita had gotten on their last trip in the wilderness. She started the soup and then started asking about fresh water. How were they going to get any? Serena told her that one of them would go out and get some the next day, but it wasn't going to be very fresh. This answer satisfied Mina for a few minutes, until she came up with another question. What about going to the bathroom?  
It was obvious that Mina was nervous. They had been in many situations similar to this one, but those other times they weren't trapped in a city with powerful droids. Droids they couldn't beat. Serena reassured her everything would be alright. She took a slab of rubble from the pile of bricks and started to dig holes for bathroom business while Mina went back to the "soup".  
  


****************************************  


  
After they had eaten, they relaxed, or tried to relax, around the fire. Since it was the only source of light in the room, the stayed close, talking about this and that. They talked about the new weapons, strategies, where they would go next, and about their pasts. Lita and Serena were attempting to make other sources of light. All they had so far were sticks of wood wrapped in rags for torches. The propped the make-shift torches between chunks of rubble and lit the cloth in the main fire. The were attempting to make the place look less gloomy, and by the seventh torch, it wasn't so bad. There was a torch in each corner and another torch in between two of the torches in the corners. All except for one wall which was closest to the fire. They were trying to think up ways to make lanterns, since all they had was one that was less than a foot tall. They only had a few candles left anyway, and no supplies to make more. They didn't have glass or metal, so the gave up on the lanterns and started making more torches. After awhile, there were fourteen torches and hardly a shadow anywhere. They were pleased with the large supply of wood they had found in the basement, as well as the old blankets.  
"It's..... cheery," Serena finally managed after an assessment of the new lighting. "No, wait... it's still gloomy. Damn." She sighed and Mina giggled.  
"That's alright, you tried," she said.  
"And failed," Serena muttered.  
"Um, Serena? Where's the bathroom?" Ami asked. At this, the other four girls cracked up; with all the tension in the air, it just struck them as funny for some reason.  
"Here, just let me find other places to put the torches I stuck in the holes." She moved the torches and gave Ami some paper to use afterwards. She and the others turned around. After Ami was done, Serena made an official announcement to the group congratulating Ami on being the first person to use the toilet. The girls cracked up again. It wasn't that funny, but they didn't care. Ami washed her hands with soap and some of the creek water that they had gotten earlier that day to use for that purpose. It wasn't the best way to live, but the girls were used to it.  
They settled on the ground with blankets, all huddling together by the fire to keep warm in the cold basement. They didn't talk much before falling asleep; each was much more worried about their situation than they would let on. They kept on a cheerful and relaxed face, but inside they were scared. They suspected the others were too. Slowly, they drifted off to sleep.  
  


****************************************  
  


Two lone figures sat among the rubble of a demolished building. They seemed oblivious to the danger of being out in the droid filled city. Their cold, emotionless eyes stared into the darkness. Even without light, you could see that they were twins, or at least you would think so.  
"Time to make our appearance?" the female asked casually.  
"Not yet," the male responded. "We wait 'till sunrise."  
  


****************************************  
  


Punch, kick, block. Serena went through her morning exercises. She had been restless all night and had gotten up early to train. The other girls seemed to be just as restless. Lita had been cooking for an hour and a half, experimenting with their meager food supplies. Raye and Mina were sparring, and Ami was on her computer once again. Each were restless from the lack of movement. Sunlight was streaming through numerous unseen gaps between the rocks, filling the chamber with light. It was comforting and warmed the chamber up slightly.  
The girls were not on guard, and were badly shocked when a cruel laugh echoed through out the chamber. The spun around to face the direction the laugh had come from, but they weren't sure exactly which direction it _had_ come from. Serena scanned the walls to crumbled rocks for the person— or thing— that had made the laugh that had chilled their bones.  
"Well well, what do we have hear?" a silky male voice asked. Serena and the girls whirled around to face the intruder. He was sitting on a shelf of rubble, watching them with a smirk on his face. He leaned against one bent knee while the other was dropped casually over the side of the wall. The girls knew too well who he was. His cold, ice blue eyes watched them as their own eyes widened and they took a few steps back. All except for Serena, who was closer to the opposite wall and farther away from the Android. She let out a low growl in her throat and lifted her gun.  
Android 17 almost blinked in surprise, but controlled his reaction. While four of the girls were obviously scared— and justly so— this girl still stood tall and defied him. He inwardly smirked at the gun in her hand. He knew that _she_ knew that the gun would not stop him. But he also knew that she was saying she wasn't going down without a fight. Also, her speed surprised the android. He knew that the girls were better fighters than any other humans on the planet, but the gun had appeared in her hand as if from nowhere. His smirk broadened. This was going to be fun.  
"Looks like we got ourselves some new play toys," said 18, stepping out of the shadows beside him. The girls' heads whipped around to look at her, except for the girl with the gun. She kept her eyes on 17, but watched 18 out of the corner of her eye.  
"Now now, put the gun away. You could hurt someone with that thing," 17 said in a patronizing voice.  
"That's the idea," she growled. He smirked; she had spunk.  
"Do you really think that if we want to do something to you that gun will stop us?" he asked smoothly.  
"Do you really think I would let you do anything to us without putting up a fight?" she sneered back. 17 cocked an eyebrow at her.  
"I suppose not," he replied in a monotone voice. "All the more fun for us." He shifted his eyes slightly to look the others over.  
The blue haired one was shaking visibly. Although he had no doubt that she was a strong and skilled fighter, he knew that once she was faced with the real power, she would succumb easily under them. She looked like she knew exactly what 18 and he could do to her. He also knew from the data gathered on the girls that she was the brains of the group. The others were very smart, of course, but she was a genius. She had figured out a lot of their droids programming, causing them to have to make new ones several times a year.  
The tall brown haired girl didn't look as scared, but he could clearly see the fear in her eyes. She looked like she was on guard, but she knew there was really nothing she could do. She had another look in her eyes that was similar to the look in the eyes of the girl who held the gun. It said she wasn't going down without a fight. 17 made a mental note to break her spirit. It didn't look like it would take much. Like the other three girls around her, she was brave, but against the ones who had cause so much destruction and death? The ones that held so much power and were so strong...? They didn't stand a chance. And they were scared.  
The raven-haired girl seemed about the same. Fear in her eyes, but determined not to give up so easily. What attracted his attention about her was that she kept looking at the girl with the gun with a worried look on her face. He knew she was worried about all her teammates, but this girl especially. Recalling the information he had on her, she was said to be very protective of the leader of the group; the one with the gun, he now realized. Like an older sister, the raven-haired one would always watch over the blond leader even though it was clear the girl could more than take care of herself.  
The last of the four unarmed girls was another blond. She looked similar to their leader, but not as attractive, 17 decided. Again, there was fear in the girl's eyes. No matter how many times 17 saw it, he never got tired of seeing it. She was also trembling and looked like she wanted to inch away but was to afraid of being attacked. Her eyes darted around the room for escape, but there was none. 17 and 18 had silently climbed in just before dawn, move a large rock and replacing it over themselves. They had watched as the girls had risen less than an hour later and immediately started training or doing other things.   
As 17's eyes moved back to the first girl, he made saw several things. First of all, this girl was stronger than the others. He didn't need the reports to see that; there was something of an aura of strength around her. Secondly, she was beautiful. He usually didn't pay attention to human appearance, but he had to admit that she was something special. He hadn't really gotten a good look at her when he and 18 where following them around the city. Third, she wasn't scared. This annoyed and astonished him, though he let neither emotion show on his face. He knew she was worried about her friends; she was said to be very protective of them and would protect them with her life if it came to that. Now she kept her face emotionless, her eyes set on 17, flickering only once to glance at her friends while he wasn't looking at her. His sharp eyesight had picked it up though.  
She seemed like she wasn't afraid at all of the Androids, nor of death. The look in her eyes said that not only would she not go down without a fight, but she would do everything possible to take the Androids down with her. The said that she didn't care if she died. He knew this was probably true, but with her friends at stake things got more complicated. He smirked even more at her and she narrowed her eyes, still glaring at him. The gun was still pointed straight at him. She had good aim, he noted absently. And she definitely knew how to handle the gun in her hand. Unfortunately for her, the gun she held was not very powerful. Her other weapons were nearby, but she would never be able to reach them before she was attacked. The other girls had guns on them, but they were not as quick and would be shot if they tried to move now. They knew that. But they were still somewhat immobile with fear, so it didn't matter anyway.  
All these observations were made with a few seconds. 18 jumped down from the ledge they were on and landed about 25 feet in front of the girls.  
"Well, what shall we do with them?" she said. The leader stepped forward.  
"Everyone get behind me," she ordered. When the other girls hesitated, she yelled "Now!" They hurried to obey. The did not reach for the weapons in their pockets, knowing that if they did so they would be killed before they could get them out. Once they were behind the girl, she took another step forward, her gun now aimed at 18. The female Android didn't seem at all worried as she laughed.  
"You don't actually think that will accomplish anything," she asked scornfully, more of a statement than a question.  
"No, but it will at least hurt you a little, perhaps only uncomfortable or an annoyance, but like I said before, I'm not just going to let you have your way without a fight." the girl responded. 18 snorted.  
"It's hardly worth it."  
The girl shrugged slightly, not moving her eyes or weapon's aim from the android. "It won't make much difference, so I might as well try and hope that I get lucky."  
17 stood up on the ledge and jumped over the heads of the girls, landing behind them— a good sixty feet from where he had been sitting. He did it so quickly that none of them had time to react. As they whirled around, he sent out a low ki blast {AN: The androids have them, right? Or maybe it's something else, but it looks the same, so...} that knocked the girls back but didn't hurt them too much. They landed roughly on their backs and were knocked nearly unconscious. The leader gasped and ran to them, crouching down beside them and pointing her gun at the androids once again.  
"You're going to have to go through me to get to them," she hissed. One of her companions let out a low groan, and she said "Are you alright, Ami?" without looking away from the androids. The girl that had moaned whispered something that 17 could not catch, but it seemed to be something like 'I'm fine'. He smirked at the leader who was glaring fiercely at him.  
"If you shoot at us, we'll make sure your friends die slowly." 18 told her. The girl paled and glanced at her friends. They were all unconscious except the girl she had called Ami, who was having trouble keeping herself from blacking out. She slowly dropped the gun and lowered her head in defeat.  
"Glad you see it our way," 17 said as he through down a gas bomb. There were coughing sounds and when the gas cleared away, all the last two girls were unconscious. 18 sighed.  
"That wasn't very fun. Not much of a struggle. We should have let them run and then followed them, or something." she muttered.  
"It was fun at the beginning when they were so scared," 17 said, and 18 agreed.  


****************************************  
  


Serena groaned. Her head hurt like hell. She tried to open her eyes, but quickly shut them again as light flooded her senses. After a few seconds she tried again. She opened her eys slowly and let them adjust to the light. She looked around the room she was in.  
It seemed to be a mix between a cell and a bedroom. There were five beds, one of which she was in. She saw her friends in the others. She jumped out of bed and ran to check on them. They were asleep, but they were ok. But she knew they would have a big headache when they woke up; even bigger than hers, for they had been blasted by 17. She sat down on her bed and studied the rest of the room. There were two small windows high up on the walls so that all you could see was sky if you looked up at them. The had bars over them. The rest of the room was bare except for a closet. Serena went over to it and opened it. It had outfits, for her and the girls she guessed. They weren't very good; nearly rags. She closed the closet and went over to the door. It looked very sturdy and she found it was locked. She knew it would be, but she tried it anyway. Without anything else to do, she went back to her bed and sat on it again.  
She knew where they were. They were at the Android's base or headquaters or whatever you want to call it. She also knew that they had been brought to be slaves. Which left her with several questions.First of all, why were they in such a fancy room? It wasn't great, but the slaves must have surely lived in a barracks or something, not a room large enough to fit five beds with space in between. They weren't small beds either; they were doubles. And they were very comfortable. They had clean sheets and two pillows each. Definetly not slave type conditions.  
And why had they been kept alive anyway? Sure they were strong, but they had fought against the Androids. Anyone who opposed the Androids was said to die a slow, painful death. At this Serena's heart sank. What if they had just been brought to give them hope? And then they would die? She shuddered at the thought. If that was the case, she wished that she had killed her friends herself to keep them from a painful death. But she was determined not to show fear. Maybe they were meant to be slaves so that the Androids could take pleasure in breaking their spirit. Well, they wouldn't break Serena's.  
It was said that the last defender of the Earth to fight the Androids was kept alive. He was made a slave so he would have to live with serving the ones who had killed all the people he had ever cared about. His name was Trunks, Serena remembered. Perhaps they were there for the same reason. She scowled; she hated the thought of serving those monsters. She would rather die. But she couldn't; not while her friends were alive. She vowed to live for them. To protect them. To give them hope, even if it was false. To give them friendship and love them as sisters.  
Over the next two hours, her friends awoke. Lita awoke first about an hour after Serena had. Then Rei, Mina, and finally Ami. Serena told them what she had thought about why they were there. They talked a little, but soon lapsed into silence. There really wasn't anything to say at that point. An hour later, the door to their room opened...  
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**  
AN:** I'll get the next chapter out soon, promise!! PLEASE REVIEW!!! You only have to type on word if you want, you don't have to sign in if you don't want, and it only takes a second!! THANKS!!!  
ALSO, ON MY STORY 'BARCELONA': The current votes for who to pair Serena are as follows, if anyone is reading that:  
Gohan— 11  
Trunks— 11  
17— 7  
  
Please vote if you havn't already. It probably won't be 17 because I have plans for several other stories that will be 17, and this one might be... I know, but I don't want to say yet. =) If you don't like 17/Serena and are reading this, don't go away! It might not be, and if it is then I think you will like it even if you don't like the couple. Please stay, but if you really don't want to, it's your choice. *sniff*


	6. Chapter 5

DWch5

** AN:** Due to some reviews I got, I wanted to stress once again that this IS an ALTERNATE UNIVERSE!!! Please don't be mad, but this IS different! I also wanted to respond to a review about Serena and why the senshi were scared. This is the answer: The senshi do not have powers, or at least they don't _know_ that they have powers. The Androids are very strong and not even the z-fighters could stop them, not to mention they are merciless and have killed millions of innocent people. Serena is a little OOC..... A LITTLE!!! Here is why I say this.  
I go by the Manga version; the way Naoko Takeuchi intended it to be. Serena doesn't do the best at school, and is sometimes a little clumsy, but not really. Nor is she a ditz, really. And when she is, it's mostly an act. It's like that in the anime too. She wants to be a normal girl, care-free, someone who doesn't have to fight. So she goes out of her way to be cheerful and care-free, as well as a little ditzy. She is really quite brave, even in the anime she is very brave when it counts. If her family was murdered and her friends were in danger she would show no fear and try to be brave. Of course, what I should have mentioned last chapter, is that she _is _scared. She just won't show it to the Androids. Now, in this fic, she will be a little OOC, for example, she will be very defient and have somewhat of an attitude.  
ONE MORE THING!!! I thank all of those who gave me suggestions, but I want to tell you that I have the entire story basically planned out so I won't be able to use them. BUT PLEASE KEEP GIVING ME SUGGESTIONS, I might change my mind and add something OR I may want to write another fic with your idea in it. Thanks!  
Whoops, ok, one MORE thing! I want to say once again, GOHAN IS DEAD!!! PLEASE DON'T HURT ME!! BUT IF YOU WANT RUNKS TO BE OLD ENOUGH TO BE WITH SOMETHING, GOHAN WILL BE DEAD BY THAT POINT. **SORRY!!!!!!  
*****Looks at long Author's note*** uh heh heh... ok, here's the story now! Sorry for the long wait!!!  
  
  
**Chapter 5  
  
**A burly man, seemingly a guard, entered the room.  
"Get up," he growled. "The Androids want to see you." The girls complied. They knew that the guard was probably a droid and much stronger than they were. Besides, even if they were able to overpower him, where would they go? There would be more droids on them in an instant, and they wouldn't be able to find their way out without attracting attention anyway. The exits had to be heavily guarded, and they didn't stand a chance against the better droids, especially without weapons.  
The walked out of the room and into the hall, the guard behind them. Serena noted that he didn't have a gun, or any weapon for that matter, aimed at them. She knew that that must mean he was very strong and didn't need them. She shuddered slightly. Another guard stepped out in front of them and told them to follow. The girls were still wearing their old clothes, which were rags by that time, but they didn't really care about their appearance at that point. The hallway they were walking down was big, and it seemed to be a mix between a hallway you would find in a palace and a hallway you would find in the dungeons. It was bare and had no windows, but was fairly wide.  
The guards led them into a brightly lit room. It was made of marble, and the tiles on the floor, walls, and ceiling were a cream-color with dark gray patterns. The room seemed to be filled with sunlight, though there were few windows. Further into the room was a rise in the floor, a few marble steps leading to a sort of alter, or platform. What was the word? Ah, yes. A dais. On the alter were many brightly colored cushions, and the androids were resting on them. All and all, it reminded Serena of a room belonging to Egyptian royalty. The Androids seemed slightly out of place in their clothes, but otherwise looked exactly like mighty and feared rulers of a kingdom.  
The guards pushed them towards the alter where they stood side by side, as if merchandise for the Androids to look over. Serena adopted a defiant and indifferent pose. She put her hands in her back pockets and put most of her weight on her left leg, he right spread slightly outward. Her head was cocked as if she was waiting impatiently for something, and her expression showing nothing but annoyance.  
Android 17 had watched as they approached, but 18 just stared at the ceiling lazily in a bored manner. Serena now felt his eyes on her and turned to meet his gaze with a cold one. The look in his eyes disturbed her; it was full of amusement and something else she couldn't place. Although unnerved, her gaze never wavered and she refused to seem to be afraid by looking away. That problem was solved when 18 spoke and 17's attention turned to her.  
"So, your finally up. Took you long enough, though we didn't really expect you to be awake for the next ten hours at least. But now we can tell you what we have planned for you." Serena inwardly winced as 18 said this, but was determined not to show any fear.  
"You'll be happy to know that we won't kill you, but trust me, this won't be any vacation." 18's voice had turned from smooth, slightly mocking to cold and forceful. "You will be our slaves. You will work hard, or you will be punished. You will not complain, or you will be punished. You will not try to escape, or you will be punished. There's a pattern here; see if your pitiful human intellect can find it."  
"You will not question our orders and you will do what we say. If we tell you to do labor with the other slaves, you will do it. If we tell you to serve us, you will do it. If we say to a job over, you do the job over. You will sleep in the room you woke up in and you will wear the clothes in there. You should be grateful; you will not have to sleep in the slave barracks. There you sleep on wooden bunk beds with no mattresses, pillows, sheets, or blankets. You are crowded and cold. You at least have beds and are not as crowded. Not only that, but you have double beds, and you each have one. The other slaves sleep two or three to a bunk that is a little narrower than a single bed."  
"You are close to us so you can serve us better. You may be called in the middle of the night or three in the morning. You will come at all times, no matter what. You will be provided with food twice a day; in the morning and at night. Your clothes will be replaced if needed, but you must use those and the ones you are wearing for at least three months. We won't allow you to waste clothing. You will awoken at five every morning. At five ten you will be given food. At five twenty you will come to us to receive orders because you will mainly serve us and not in labor with the others. You will go to bed when your chores are done and not before. There is no set time."  
"There will be guard's outside your room at all times and surveillance cameras in the halls. Your room will not be monitored, so you will have privacy. However, do not even think of trying to escape. If for some reason you get out of the room, you won't make it to the next hall. If you try to escape from another place, let me assure you, you will fail. We are not only underground, but very far from the exits. The sunlight and window in your room is an illusion, and the sunlight filling this room is mostly artificial."  
"I believe I have covered anything. I'll be generous and allow you to ask questions. Are there any?" There was silence for a moment.  
"What kind of labor do the slaves do?" Lita asked timidly. This time 17 spoke.  
"The majority do mining." He didn't answer further than that, and Serena raised an eyebrow.  
"What kind of mining?" Serena asked without a hint of fear in her voice.  
"You do not need to know that." came the response.  
"Any other questions?" 18 asked. "We will not answer them later."  
"Yeah, one," Serena said, slightly sarcastically. "You two claim androids are superior to humans, yet it seems we are more civilized. Care to explain?"  
18 smirked. "I should whip you for that, but I'll answer. Civility has nothing to do with superiority. We are superior to humans, therefore we are superior to humanity, which includes mercy, kindness, ect."  
Serena arched her eyebrows in disbelief. "What kind of caveman-monkey-psycho-babble is that?" She exclaimed incredulously. The other girls stared at her for her boldness and lack of fear or respect for those who could kill them in an instant. Or slowly and very, very, painfully. "Jeez, that's just... primordial. Totally primitive thinking. So when do the gladiator fights start?" she asked sarcastically.  
The two androids had been watching her with slight amusement. Now the turned to look at each other, a look of surprise on their faces.  
"Gladiator fights..." 17 murmured.  
"Why didn't we think of that?" asked 18. Serena's eyes practically bulged out of their sockets.  
"What?! Oh no..." she muttered.  
"We really should have thought of that. That would prove to be much more entertaining." 17 told his sister.  
"I guess they're worth something after all!" she replied.  
"Oh bloody hell," Serena muttered. "What have I done? Oh great, just great. Shit."  
"What's wrong, Tenshi? You disagree?" 17 asked silkily. Serena glared at him for the nickname.  
"Yes I do disagree!"  
"Well I thought it was a good idea." he replied.  
"Maybe we should hold it off for awhile. We need our slaves strength now. When we go back to South America we'll get more slaves for that. We haven't really touched that part of the world yet." 18 said.  
"Except for killing everyone in that one country. But yes, you're right. We'll put it off."  
"Bastards." Serena said quietly, fury showing in her eyes. 18 turned to face her, eyes narrowing.  
"Did you say something, slave?"  
"Yes," Serena said a bit louder. "I called you bastards. But for some reason it doesn't seem bad enough."  
"You're treading on thin ice, girl," 18 said, almost casually. "If you're not careful, I'll have to use you as an example of what happens when you don't treat us with the proper respect. She gestured to several whips behind her on the podium.  
Looking around, (ignoring the expressions on her friends faces that were telling her to shut up and be careful), Serena saw some manacles chained the the wall. "Hn. Let me guess; you would bind me hands with that and whip me back, correct?" She slowly walked over to the manacles. The guards made a move to get her, but 18 held up a hand, telling them to let her be. Serena reached the wall and turned back to 18. "Fine." She turned back to the wall and took her shirt off. (AN: She was facing the wall, so no one could see her chest. And she doesn't have a bra. They're living on the streets, what do you expect?) She then tied the sleeves of the shirt around her neck so that it was impossible to see her breasts. 17 smirked at this.  
18 leisurely picked out a whip and walked over as Serena clasped the manacles around her wrists. 18 locked them and made sure they were secure. "Let's see what you've got," Serena challenged as 18 got ready to whip her. 18 smirked. Serena's friends turned away so they wouldn't have to see Serena being hurt.  
18 brought the whip down. Hard. Serena winced, but refused to cry out. She knew it would only give 18 satisfaction. 18 brought it down again, this time adding a flick of her wrist that would make it sting more. Serena winced again, but still made no sound. The whip came down again. Again. Serena began to lose count as she struggled not to make a sound. Tears began to flow down her cheeks, and she was not able to stop them. After what seemed like an eternity, and just as Serena thought she might break and cry out, 18 stopped.  
"Fifteen lashes. A little more than we usually start with, but since you seem so strong, I thought you could take it. Seems like I was right." She walked around to Serena's side. "But I warn you. Don't upset me again." Serena glared at her defiantly, painfully aware of 18's satisfaction of at least seeing tears. 18 released the manacles, and Serena crumpled to the floor. Her friends started forward to help her but stopped as the guards blocked their path.  
"It's alright, let them through," said 18. Again, she had resumed talking with her casual, uncaring voice, as if nothing had happened. The girls rushed over to Serena. There were mostly welts, but the skin had broken a few places, and Lita tore part of her shirt to use as a cloth to wipe away the blood.  
"We'll allow you to take her to the medical room," 18 said. "Then you will come right back here. But only because you do not have any duties currently." She turned to address the guards. "Take them to the medical room."  
Serena untied her shirt and pulled it over her head again, Ami blocking the guards view and Mina blocking 17's. Again 17 smirked at their attempts of modesty. Raye tried to get Serena to lean on her as she stood up, but Serena gently pushed away the girls help and walked after the guards on her own. She stood straight and did not falter, and 17 couldn't help but admire her somewhat for her courage and determination.  
After the girls had left, 18 settled back on her cushions and turned to her brother.   
"I think I'll like breaking her spirit."  
  
Half an hour later, they returned. Ami, knowing a lot about medical instruments, had cleaned and bandaged Serena's back. She had also used a special tool that would prevent scars, but if Serena was whipped enough, faint scars would still show. As Ami had tended to Serena, she and the others had berated her for being so bold and defiant and pleaded with her to be more careful. She only answered by telling them she was fine and that she didn't want to show fear to the androids. She also said that she didn't blame the other girls for not being more defiant, and that they should under no circumstances take after her. She didn't want to see them hurt. They told her that they didn't want to see her hurt either, but she seemed to dismiss their comments. They couldn't reason with her, and the fact that the androids were much stronger than them and lacked humanity besides seemed to have no affect on her. They just hoped she wouldn't be too foolish.  
"Well, I guess we should put them to work now, don't you think 17?" 18 said to her brother when the girls we lined before them again.  
"Yes, let's see what we can find for them to do."  
"We need more cooks for the slaves. The last one died, and the other isn't faring too well," 18 said lightly. "I hear the brown haired one is a good cook. She can take one of the others."  
"Make it the raven haired one. She seems to be the closest to their leader. We'll separate them." 17 replied, pretending not to notice the fierce glare Serena was sending at him.  
"The others can clean the slave barracks. We'll have them see to us later." 18 said thoughtfully.  
"Not the spirited blond," 17 said. "I'll take her with me. She can serve me personally today. I'm sure she'll behave now that you've disciplined her."  
"I beg to differ," Serena muttered. 17 raised an eyebrow at her.  
"Perhaps I'll have to discipline her more then."  
"Whatever you want, brother. I'll take the others and instruct in their duties. I'll be in my quarters if you need me."  
18 stood and walked past the guards. "Follow me," she ordered. The four girls reluctantly started after her, glancing at Serena as they left. Half of the guards followed.  
"Well Tenshi, looks like it's just you and me now," 17 said with a smirk.  
"Oh joy." Serena replied sarcastically.  
"Now now, none of that," 17 reprimanded as he stood up and walked down the steps of the dais. "I wouldn't want to be forced to hurt you, Tenshi." he said as he lifted one hand to cup her chin. She pulled away roughly, and he chuckled.  
"Come on," he said as he started past her, "we're going to my chambers." She followed without a word, the guards falling in behind her. She glared at 17's back the whole way.  
  
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AN: I GOT THE NEXT CHAPTER OUT!! Don't you all just love me? ^^  
As always, PLEASE REVIEW!!! I BEG OF YOU!!!! The next chapter is already started!! I'll try to get it out soon!!


	7. Chapter 6

DWch6

AN: Thanks so much for the reviews! The really encouraged me!! Though I got fewer than I usually do... I think people read the last part of the chapter and thought that 17 and Serena alone, and Serena being 17's personal' slave meant that this chapter was going to be NC17 or something... WELL IT'S NOT!! Sorry, but there is only one thing like that, and it is really not that bad, so.... IF YOU ARE STILL READING, PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!  
  
  
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Chapter 6  
**  
17's chambers, or at least the ones Serena saw, were also done in an Ancient Egyptian theme. The door to the chambers was double, and there were two guards who opened them. The doors were intricately designed with carvings of mythical beasts and gods. Specifically Egyptian gods, Serena noted. The rooms themselves were made of white marble, like a palace. They were filled with more artificial sunlight. Serena noticed that if she hadn't been told that the sunlight was artificial, he wouldn't have been able to tell. The light had made beautiful, serene look to the rooms, but she knew she couldn't let her guard down.  
The first room was bare except for a fountain in the center. It was very beautiful, and Serena stared at it in wonder as she passed. It was also made a white marble. It had a pillar shaped almost like a vase, and the water shot out of the top and fell into a pool below. Above the pillar, high enough not to block the water, was a statue of Aphrodite. The sunlight made the water glisten and sparkle beautifully.  
'_Artificial sunlight,_' Serena reminded herself forcefully.  
Being led through a door on the side of the room, she found herself in another room similar to the first. Again, it was made of white marble. There was a dais at the opposite end of the room that was covered with plush cushions. Spread on the steps and around some cushions were bowls and platters of fruits. The rest of the room was fairly empty besides a few colorful tapestries hanging on the walls and pools on both sides of the room. The pools reached from the wall with the door to the wall with the dais, and were rectangular shaped. Their interiors were made of blue tile, and they had little fountains sticking up every few feet.  
Looking around, Serena also noticed an intercom on the wall behind the dais and one by the door. They looked out of place in the room, but they weren't very noticeable.  
17 walked up the steps of the dais and settled himself on the cushions. "Come here, Tenshi," he called to Serena, who had been standing just inside the door. She reluctantly walked over and stopped before the dais, crossing her arms to show her unwillingness to cooperate. The look of amusement in 17's eyes unnerved and annoyed her.  
"Come on up, don't be shy," he invited smoothly. It also annoyed her the way he acted like nothing would ever anger him because he would always have his way. He seemed so patronizing at times. She scowled, but obeyed. She walked up the steps and sat on the cushion he gestured to. She made herself comfortable, also acting like she didn't care in the least what was happening, because he couldn't do anything to her. Instead of annoying him, it only seemed to amuse him. That did not make Serena happy.  
17 turned to the guards. "Leave us," he commanded in a regal tone. Once they had left, closing the door behind them, he turned back to Serena. He was stretched out on the cushions, propping himself upright on his elbow. Serena sat behind him, leaning her weight on her right arm with her legs beside her so that she wasn't sitting on them.  
"So, what should I call you then," Serena asked sarcastically. "Your majesty?"  
"The others seem to have taken up 'My Lord'; that will be fine." he replied. Serena just humphed. "And I'll call _you_ Tenshi," he continued with a smirk.  
"That's not my name," she informed him.  
"I know... it's Serena..." she didn't like the way he said her name; almost seductively. "But Tenshi fits you so much better."  
"So what are my _duties_ then?" she asked, stressing the 'duties'. She looked around and raised an eyebrow at the platters. "Feed you grapes?"  
"That would be a good start. You catch on quick." Serena only glared at him with enough force to wilt a tree. Slowly, she reached for one of the bowls and took out a grape.  
"I humbly bestow this grape unto you, My Lord," she muttered sarcastically as she put it to his lips. He opened his mouth and she slipped the grape in, adding "I hope you choke."  
17 ate the grape and sighed. "Well I suppose it's a start, ne Tenshi?" Serena only grunted uncaringly and reached for a strawberry, dipping it into a bowl of sauce used on strawberries. 17 lay back, putting his hands under his head. She turned her attention away from her work to study a tapestry. It was very beautiful, with thousands of different colors woven in. It portrayed greek gods and goddesses, heroes, and mythical beasts. She absently put fruit in 17's mouth every minute or so, trying to ignore the fact that she was COMPLETELY humiliated about this job, and she HATED doing it, and he was ENJOYING it! And of course, the fact that he was watching her very closely with that same look in his eye, the one she could never quite place. Whatever it was, she didn't like it. She had a very strong urge to toss a grape in his mouth with enough force so he would start coughing and gagging, but decided against it because she knew that it would only get her punished and he wouldn't even die. He probably expected her to do it anyway.  
She started to wish they had just killed her. Serving the ones she hated most and fought against was far worse than anything else they could do to her. Except maybe making her be 17's personal slave the whole time. She was unnerved by the way he looked at her and talked; totally calm and indifferent, and almost seductive. He had the kind of smile— actually, it was a smirk— that would make a girl weak in the knees. Good thing Serena wasn't that type of girl. She was tough and not distracted by a guy's looks. Especially when she knew that the guy was a monster.  
She was startled out of her thoughts as she felt something warm and damp on her finger tips. Looking down, she saw 17 had not only taken the grape from her fingers, but had claimed her finger tips in his mouth as well. His eyes were closed as he sucked lightly on them. She quickly jerked her hand away. He opened his eyes and she nearly shivered. That look AGAIN. She wish she could just figure out what it was. And of course, there was the ever-present smirk on his face, even though it was a small one. An amused yet enticing smirk.  
Not wanting him to keep looking at her, she quickly reached for a berry. She also didn't want him to say anything about what had just happened. As far as she was concerned, it never happened. Except there was still this uneasy feeling she had because of it, so it was hard to tell herself it had never happened.  
'_Ok, NOW I'm just confusing myself._' she thought. '_I just won't think about it. He's just trying to get to me._'  
To Serena's great relief, they were interrupted about ten minutes later. In that time 17 hadn't done anything else, and Serena had starred at the wall, refusing to look at him. A guard came in informing him that he was needed for a 319, whatever that was. 17 sighed and asked him why it was to be done today instead of the next day as planned, and the guard told him that 'they' had finished early. (It had been programed not to give any other information when a human slave was in the room, but 17 obviously knew what it meant.)  
"Very well, take the girl to the slaves in charge of cleaning. Inform the overseers that she will be working there until dinner, and she will have a new job afterwards." 17 ordered.  
"Yes my lord."  
"I will be visiting the tailors after I take care of this, see that the head is ready for me. I will have specific instructions for her."   
"Yes my lord."  
"You may go." 17 dismissed them with a wave of his hand.  
"You, girl! Come along." The droid said to Serena. She stood and followed him out, muttering curses under her breath, most of them bad things about the droid. Two other droids followed her out. This pleased her a bit; the droid guards were stronger than her and she wouldn't be able to get away from one, even if it's back _was_ turned. Having three escorting just her meant that the androids thought she was stronger than most. Thought it would have probably been better for her if they had underestimated her. On the bright side, if there was any, she would be away from 17 for awhile.  
As she walked, she began to feel the first pangs of hunger. She had been to distracted before to notice, first with meeting the Androids, then with trying to keep her pride intact while hand feeding 17. Now that she thought about, she was _very_ hungry! She had never eaten breakfast that morning when they were captured, because Lita was still making it. She wasn't sure how long she was unconscious, but probably at least 30 hours. Then there were three hours from the time she woke up to the time the guard took them to the Androids. That had been two hours before. She was used to going without food occasionally, but usually not for more than one day. Sometimes it was very little, but at it was something. She hadn't had food in over 47 hours. And the more she thought about it, the hungrier she was.  
When they finally reached their destination, Serena took a moment to look around. It was a room with many cleaning supplies and several people running around preparing soaps or rinsing mops or some other kind of work. The first guard spoke to a guard in the room, one of the 'overseers' Serena guessed. The overseer nodded, and the three guards that had escorted Serena left. The overseer called over a woman. She looked to be in her forties. Her brown hair was tied up in a bun and her sleeves were rolled up to above her elbows. Her face was slightly red from the heat of the steam made by the hot water being filled into buckets. She looked like she would have been a plump woman if she was eating well, but now her face was thin and bony. It didn't make her look ugly; just like she hadn't been eating as much as she should have.  
"This slave will be working her until dinner. Put her to work." the overseer said to the woman. She nodded and took Serena's arm, pulling her away.  
"I know about you," the woman told her quietly as she got a bucket with hot water, some soap mixture, and other supplies. She didn't look at Serena, and at first Serena wasn't sure if the woman was speaking to her or not. "I'm Clio. I'm the head cleaning slave. I make sure everyone has enough supplies and I assign them to a sector. I've heard about you, the droids spoke of you and your four friends. I heard one of them telling a group of others that you were the freedom fighters that had been bothering them and that you had been captured. I also heard that you and your friends are personally serving the Androids. Must be there way to punish you; serving those you've fought against. So this is your first day, right?" Serena nodded. "Don't worry, we'll help you out. I will talk with you at dinner. For now I'm sending you with Sara. She can answer your questions while you clean. She's heard about you too. The droids were informed of it right outside one of the female barracks, so a lot of the women in that barracks heard. By tomorrow, I'll bet everyone will know of you."  
Clio called to Sara, a girl about 25 who had brownish-blond hair also pulled into a bun. She quickly explained that this was one of the new slaves that had been one of the Moonlight Senshi. The girl's eyes widened in awe. Apparently the girls were better known than Serena had thought. They asked her name, and she told them it was Serena. They looked like they had more questions to ask, but the overseer cracked a whip and told them to get back to work, and they would be whipped if they were seen idle again. Sara grabbed Serena's hand and dragged her off, only stopping so they could grab their supplies.  
Once they had left the room, Sara whispered that they would see Clio at dinner. She said that she would answer Serena's questions once they had gotten set up in their sector. Sara led Serena down a few narrow hallways and to a large, metal door. Guards watched them from places along the halls. The metal door was opened by another guard. They stepped into the dark chamber and Serena looked around.  
It was light enough to see well, but not as bright as the other rooms. It was a very large room, and the walls were lined with narrow bunk beds. There were torn sheets or rags that could not be worn on nearly every bed. They were used as pillows or padding to sleep on. The didn't need blankets because the temperature was controlled by some sort of computer. Right now, there were woman scrubbing the floors and shaking out the cloths on the bed while about four droids watched them from different parts of the room. An unpleasant smell was hanging in the air, a mixture of sweat, urine, and even some blood and vomit, though it wasn't as strong. Serena felt a sharp pang in her heart to know that the slaves lived in this condition.  
Sara headed farther back into the room and Serena followed. The set their buckets down in an area no one was cleaning and began scrubbing the floor. Serena had to put her hair, which was currently in a ponytail, into a tight bun to keep it out of the way. Sara whispered to Serena to be as quiet as possible. If they were caught talking, they would be punished, because talking meant they weren't using all their energy to work. She explained that the overseers watched over the workers to make sure they didn't dawdle or stop working for a break. She told Serena about the different jobs slaves did. There were some who cleaned, some who made food for everyone, some who mined certain minerals for the androids, though no one knew what they were for. There were some who did manufacturing, but only they knew what they made, for they were not allowed to speak of it and did not socialize with the other slaves. The had their own place to eat and their own barracks.  
They were some slaves who mended clothes for the others, or made new ones. There were some who grew food and useful in indoor greenhouses and man-made (or droid-made) environments. There were slaves who worked as medical helpers. Then there were also slaves outside of— wherever they were. They made cloth for clothes, medicines, tools, soaps, buckets, lights, and just about everything else you would use. The droids themselves took care of the electricity lines and water pipes and such.  
She told Serena about things you had to know to survive as a slave. Never be late for a meal, or you wouldn't be let in the Mess Hall. There were only two meals a day. Serena was very unhappy when she found she would have to wait at least five more hours to get food. There were areas to bath, but you could only do it once a week. There were shampoos and conditioners for washing hair, but many woman chose to keep their hair short in order to keep it out of the way and so it could easily be cleaned.   
Another thing you had to know was that you can't let tiredness get to you. If you work too slowly, you will be punished. And you are not allowed to talk back. Whatever you were told to do, you did it. You were never to complain. You were never to be idle. Basically what 18 had said, with a few more tips added.  
The rest of the time was spent in silence, except for Sara telling Serena what to do from time to time. The scrubbed the floors and some beds. They cleaned the bathrooms. Serena knew that the slaves had to live here and she was lucky, so she worked very hard and tried to get everything as clean as possible. The bathroom looked much better when she was done cleaning it.  
Sara advised her not to over-work herself, because then she might be too tired later. If she was too tired to work, she had to stay up until it was done and she wouldn't get any sleep until it was finished. If she passed out she would be awoken after only an hour and forced to finish the job. How this solved anything, no one knew; the person then got even less sleep that night, if any at all, and it would usually just happen again.  
  
  
When they were done, they left the barracks and went to wash clothes for the droids. They hurried through it, since few of them were really dirty; droids didn't sweat, so usually only the droids that oversaw the miners had dirty uniforms. As long as all the uniforms were clean, they could start washing the slave's clothes, though you could hardly call them that. Most were rags.  
Serena kept her mind busy so she wouldn't be bored out of her wits. It was also to keep her mind off of hunger. She thought about the slave conditions and wondered if there was anything she could do to improve them. Probably not, but it was a nice thought. She wondered what her friends were doing, and hoped that they were alright. She brushed her bangs away from her face, and promptly decided to grow them out. They were sticking to her forehead because of all the steam. Perhaps she could get a headband to use until they were long enough to tie back.  
Sara informed her that her friends were probably being helped by somebody. They probably knew all the rules by now, and Serena shouldn't worry. But Serena always worried about her friends, and she wasn't going to stop now. She felt sorry for them, knowing they were probably as hungry as she was. Her stomach was giving sharp pangs, and she felt a little lightheaded, but ignored it and kept working. She asked Sara how big the rations were. Sara told her that they weren't that big, but it was better know than it had been a few years ago. The androids figured it was better to keep the slaves they had, because if they died, they'd have to go and get knew ones. The ones who had been their longer would have become used to the life and would also have become stronger. Replacing miners was no easy task; the new ones didn't do very well. They had to build up their strength.  
After they were done washing clothes, the went to hang them up to dry in a special room. Air would filter through the room to dry them faster. This job took them a long time, because they had several hundred uniforms and twice as many rags to hang up, and there were only ten people hanging. Finally, when Serena felt she was about to pass out from hunger, the call for dinner came. The room was spinning in Serena's eyes, so Sara helped her into the Mess Hall and got food for her.   
Serena's friends came in shortly after she did, also being helped by other women. The five thankfully ate, not saying a word until they were done eating. They then, after reassuring each other numerous times that they were fine, shared their experiences and what they had learned. Sara was right; each girl had had somebody helping them, showing them the ropes and giving them tips. They were about to launch in a big discussion of their day, when the overseers ushered them out of the room, yelling loudly and ordering them to go back to work. Serena's friends were greatly disappointed; they had wanted to know what had happened to their leader while she was with 17. To Serena it was just as well; she hadn't really wanted to talk about it.  
Serena was about to follow Sara when she realized she didn't know where she was suppose to go. Sara reassured her it would be alright, and apologized for leaving her, but the droids were ordering her back to her station. So she bid Serena farewell and hurried after the other cleaning slaves before one of the droids whipped her.  
"You, girl, come with me," said a voice from behind Serena. She turned around and saw a droid addressing her. She couldn't tell if it was the same as before; they all looked more or less alike.   
She followed him down the halls, wondering what would come next.  
  
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AN: Well?!? WHAT DID YOU THINK?!?!? **PLEASE REVIEW!!! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!!! IT ONLY TAKES A SECOND!!! I'M NOT ASKING FOR A LONG REVIEW, JUST ONE WORD IF YOU WANT!!!! YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE TO LOG IN!!!!!! PLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!**


	8. Chapter 7

DWch7

**Chapter 7**  
  
They led her through many hallways. She couldn't tell where they were going, because all the hallways looked more or less alike. The droids must have had built in maps. They lead her to a door and opened it. Serena heard sounds of rustling cloth, sewing machines, and the low murmuring of voices.  
Stepping inside, she saw she was in a large room with many women sewing and mending. Some sat in chairs, but most were sitting on the floor. Serena guessed that this was the tailors' room that Sara had told her about. She realized that 17 had also mentioned going to the tailors, and felt a sinking sensation in her stomach. The guards ushered her past the other women. Most didn't look up, but some of the younger girls looked up curiously at the new comer. As they reached the end of the room, Serena saw another doorway. Maybe they were just passing through thus area and wouldn't stop.  
No such luck. They went through the door, but the new room was a sewing room as well. This one only had a few women. They were busy at sewing machines making what seemed to be new uniforms for the droids. At one end of the room 17 was leaning over a table filled with papers, while a woman explained them in more detail. The woman seemed nervous and spoke quickly, anxiously waiting to see 17's reaction. The guards led her over. She wouldn't have followed, but considering there were two behind her, she pretty much had to follow the first one or be pushed forward. She would much rather walk proudly with her head held high hen be shoved forward like trash.  
"Sir, the slave is here," the leading droid addressed 17. He glanced over his shoulder at her before turning back to the woman he had been talking to.  
"I'll take this with me and give you instructions tomorrow. And I suggest you finish that new outfit for 18, she has been quite bored lately and might wish to punish tardiness for entertainment." 17 said to the woman.  
"Ye-yes sir," she stammered as he picked up the papers. She hurried off to finish her work and 17 turned to Serena.  
"We'll be going back to my quarters," he told her. She snorted.  
"Gee thanks, drag me all the way here and then make me go somewhere else," she said sarcastically.  
Before she could react, one of the guards had brought his whip down on her back. Her eyes widened and she stumbled forward a bit, but did not let any other reaction through.  
"Insolence is not tolerated!" he barked. "You are the slave, you will treat your superiors with respect!" Serena turned slightly to look at him.  
"Very well. I'll make sure to do that as soon as I see someone who is superior to myself."  
The whip came down again, and she winced. But she would not cry out or show any other sign of pain.  
"My Lord, should we take her to discipline her?" the guard asked.  
"No, I will deal with it," 17 replied. He had simply watched the whole interaction without stepping in. "Let's go, I will deal with her when we are back in my quarters."  
"Yes sir."  
  
  
Serena walked silently the whole way, satisfying herself with glaring and thinking bad thoughts about the droids and 17. Once they had reached 17's chambers 17 dismissed the guards once again. He led her into the same room they were in before and fell back onto the pillows. Serena noted with interest that the artificial sunlight was gone, and instead there were lanterns glowing around the room. A soft, white glow came from somewhere. It looked almost like moonlight— almost, but not quite. The androids could never capture the beauty of the moon.  
"Come here," 17 called, beckoning her with his hand. "I want to show you something." Serena walked towards the dais and again settled herself on the pillows beside him. He shifted the pillows so that he was in a sitting position and leaning against them, and motioned for Serena to come beside him. She hesitantly crawled over and settled against the pillows.  
"What do you think of these?" he asked her, handing her the papers he had brought with him. On the papers were sketches of outfits that seemed to be Egyptian or perhaps Roman. They were for women, and ranged from simple outfits to dresses fit for royalty. She raised an eyebrow as she flipped through them.  
"What do I think of them in terms of what?" she asked as she studied a rather complex dress.  
"Those are some dresses that 18 is having made," he said pointing to the dresses she was looking at. The ones that looked like they were fit for royalty. "She also found designs for things that female and male slaves usually wear. She was thinking about having them made for the slaves who work in the main rooms. She said that otherwise they were too dirty to be allowed in the main rooms, slaves or not."  
"Well, there certainly better than rags," Serena replied.  
"Yes, that was one problem she had with it. She didn't want the slaves to be too comfortable. They are rarely seen in the main rooms anyway."  
"So you want my opinion on whether or not to have the slaves where them?" Serena asked incredulously.  
"No, I was thinking of having you wear one. Nothing fancy, or 18 will disapprove; one that the lower slaves wore, maybe. If you are going to be my personal slave at times, then you should look it. The rags you wear don't complement the Egyptian theme of my rooms, and they don't look very good with the cushions." he said simply.  
Serena snorted. "So sorry I clash with your decor. And what about you, Mister Green Socks?"  
"There is no way I am wearing a toga."  
"That's Greek, know-it-all." Unfortunately, 17 seemed to take no notice of her name calling.  
"Well then I'm not wearing a skirt. Besides, I'm not wearing green socks now. Those wear what my creator gave me, I just used them so as not to be bothered with finding a new outfit. Though 18 seems to enjoy that sort of thing."  
Serena looked at 17 and saw he wasn't wearing green socks. He was wearing jeans, black boots, and a white shirt that was unbuttoned at the top. Upon noticing the last, she quickly looked away. Though she had to admit, he didn't look as out of place as he had before. She also had to admit he looked ho— er, good.  
Not that she cared in the least. As had been said before, she was never one to go gah-gah over looks. She could truthfully say that she still hated 17. Though it still annoyed her that the thought of him looking good crossed her mind, even if it was true.  
Having taken a moment to recover from her disgust, she muttered "Rags are just fine with me." She was relieved that she was able to hide her emotions so well. She didn't want 17 to notice anything. It would inflate his already big ego.  
"Even so, you should wear something like this," he said pointing to a simple outfit. "Though I'll have to make sure 18's outfits look much more regal compared to yours. She'll have a fit if it's any other way. Besides, white suits you."  
"How do you know? You've never seen me in white."  
"I can tell. Besides, you look stunning in anything, even rags. You should wear something that complements your beauty more."  
"A slave's outfit. Gee, thanks." She ignored his last comment, keeping her eyes on the sketches to avoid meeting his eye.  
"Well, we don't want to get 18 too jealous, now do we?"  
"Frankly, I couldn't care less about what she thinks."  
"You're going to have to learn to control your temper, or she might decide to punish you."  
"Your point being...?"  
17 sighed and leaned back against the cushions. "I won't be able to stop her from hurting you." he said.  
"I never asked you to," she snapped.  
"Hm. Very well Tenshi, I suppose I'll have to let you learn on your own. You'll learn better from experience anyway," he said. He brought one hand up to caress her cheek but she jerked away before he could touch her. To her extreme annoyance, 17 merely looked amused.  
"Well then, how was your first day?" he asked lightly, picking up a grape from one of the nearby bowls.  
Serena considered saying it was pure hell, but then thought that it was probably what 17 wanted to hear. "Well, I was a little surprised at the work. I thought I was a slave, and the work was going to be hard and tedious. Really, it was somewhat of a disappointment. I would have thought you would have given me more work considering I was the one who kept destroying all your droids. 18 said it wasn't going to be a vacation, but it was a nice break from my old life." She knew it probably wasn't going to annoy 17 too much; she should have said it to 18. But at least she tried.  
"Well, if you are bored I'm sure we could find more work for you," 17 said. Serena hid her scowl. As she had expected, it hadn't annoyed him in the least.  
"Fine with me," she replied. She would show them how strong she really was, and that nothing they could do to her would bring her down. And maybe one day she would be able to wipe that smirk off of 17's face.  
  
  
The rest of the evening was, for the most part, uneventful. After 17 looked over the designs, he called several women to take Serena to be measured. When that was done it was about ten o'clock at night. Serena and her friends were permitted to go back to their rooms since it had been their first day and the androids didn't want them to be worn out.  
After everyone had used the connecting bathroom, they swapped stories. Her four friends had been working hard all day, and Serena felt slightly guilty for getting off easy. Though when she told everyone how she had been forced to feed 17 fruit, they all agreed that working all day was much better. She left out a lot of details, not wanting to go into it. She was already embarrassed enough as it was. She was very thankful to find that the girls had all made friends and had not been whipped once. They were also usually with at least one other girl in their group.  
Once again, they pleaded with Serena not to anger the androids. Serena sighed and told them that this was her way. She hated the androids; they had taken everything from her. She would always stand against them, and she didn't care what happened to her. They expected to break her spirit, but she wouldn't let them. She promised to never go to the point of critical injury or forcing the androids to kill her.  
"You're so brave," Mina whispered. "I feel like I'm letting you down by submitting too easily."  
"No!" Serena yelled, sitting straight up in bed. The girls jumped at her sudden outburst. "No, you guys shouldn't do what I'm doing. Please, you're not letting me down! I would do the same, if it weren't for you guys. You guys are my best friends. My sisters. You give me strength. For you, I will face anything, stand against any evil. If you were hurt, I would never forgive myself for not protecting you. Besides, if they focus on me, they won't bother you, right? I promise not to get myself killed, because that won't serve any purpose. This makes me stronger. And all the work we will be doing will make all of us stronger. Someday, we _will_ be free again. And I'm not just saying that to make you feel better. I can _feel_ it. I can't explain how; I just can."  
The girls seemed comforted by this, and they lay on their beds in silence. Serena lay uncomfortably due to the new welts on her back, but didn't let on to her friends.  
They all fell asleep soon. Though they were stronger than most, the day of work, the lack of food, and the remnants of the drug used in the gas bomb left them exhausted.  
  
  
The halls around the girls' room was silent. It was early morning. The Androids had decided that they would have food taken to them so they would remain near to serve the androids. They were getting an extra two hours of rest because the drug still had affect on them.  
A panel on the girls' door slide open. It was one that could be opened only from the inside, used to talk to the guards outside if necessary.  
A yell suddenly disrupted the silence.  
"YO ANDROIDS! CAN WE GET SOME TOOTH BRUSHES DOWN HERE?!?"  
  
An hour later the girls had eaten and were standing in front of the Androids. They were in the same room they had been in the day before.  
18 raised an eyebrow at Serena. "Was there something you needed earlier?" she asked.  
"I need a tooth brush," Serena replied indifferently.  
"A tooth brush?" 18 said incredulously.  
"Did you lose your hearing? Yeah, a tooth brush. Five, actually, there weren't any there."  
"Perhaps you do not fully understand what it means to be a slave," 18 said calmly. "Many things are leisures that you will do without. There are fluoride supplements in parts of the meal. They are tasteless. There are also other teeth cleaning minerals and what-not."  
"Um, yeah,... but... it's not enough," Serena said slowly, as if trying to explain something to a child. 18 narrowed her eyes.  
"It seems you have not yet learned the proper behavior of a slave," she said coldly.  
"No, I just don't give damn," Serena responded simply.  
"Perhaps you would care more if you were to be punished."  
"Not likely."  
"Well then, you won't mind if I test that," 18 said, her voice bordering on annoyance.  
"Not at all," Serena replied cooly. 18 stood, reaching for one of the whips. Serena walked over to the wall by the manacles and, after repeating the procedure of tying her shirt around her neck, clasped them around her wrists.  
"Well, we'll see if you still don't care once you've been punished enough," said 18 from behind her.  
"Nothing you can do will make me care. And I doubt you can to much to me anyway." As she finished speaking, Serena felt the whip come down on her back. Luckily, she was ready for it, and did not cry out.  
"Is that so?" 18 said coldly.  
"Yup," Serena replied, keeping her voice even. The whip came down again. Serena clenched her teeth.  
"We'll see how long that lasts," 18 said with a smirk.  
  
A minute and thirty lashes later, 18 lowered the whip and took a step back. Red welts covered Serena's back, and blood leaked sluggishly from several cuts. Her back stung like hell, and she had resorted to singing camp songs in her head to keep from passing out with the pain. Her fists were clenched and shook slightly. Her legs were weak from the convulsions of her body when the whip had hit her. Beads of sweat dotted her face from the effort of remaining silent. She had not cried out. She had made some involuntary noises in her throat, but never had her mouth opened.  
18 entered a code in a panel near the manacles and they opened, dropping Serena to the floor. She hadn't noticed how it had been done the day before and was not prepared for the fall. She landed heavily and squeezed her eyes shut at the sudden jolt of pain.  
"Well then, if you're ready to cooperate, we can tell give you you're orders for the day," 18 said.   
"Whatever," Serena muttered.  
The whip lashed out, and Serena nearly cried out, but choked it back. This sent her into a fit of coughs.  
"I suggest for your own sake that you get back into line and stay silent," 18 told her. Serena glared at her and stood up shakily.  
"Fine with me, I don't really care one way or another."  
Instead of whipping Serena again or getting angry, 18 gave her a cold smile that sent shivers down her spine.  
"Oh believe me, you will."  
  
  
Serena cooperated the rest of the time they were with the Androids that morning, except for glaring defiantly at them and muttering about still needing a toothbrush. The girls were told that they would work in the mines for most of the day. The Androids wanted to put their strength to good use. The girls would not be serving the Androids because there were things that the two needed to take care of. Serena was very glad; mining she could do just fine. Feeding 17 was just humiliating.  
The Androids gave the guards specific instructions of where the girls would work that day, but the girls were already being ushered out the door by a group of droids and didn't hear most of what was said.  
The mines were lit by torches and artificial lights. They looked basically what you would imagine mines to look like, except there was more light, the tunnels were more like halls, and the chambers were like caves. They were told what to look for, given dull tools, and were chained together in groups of four or five. They were also chained to the wall, but the chain was long so they could move around in a fairly large area.  
Basically what they were looking for were minerals, gems, and such. Anything that looked different from the wall and everything that stood out. Some were easy, like garnets. You could see them easily and you took them out whole, or as close to whole as you could. However, some minerals could not be taken out in solid parts. They had to be scraped away and collected in a container, or else the section of rock they were in had to be removed. Most of it was not careful chipping and examining; that was done by others. The miners chipped large chunks of rock away. It was very hard work, especially with the dull tools they had. And you had to be careful where you are hitting; you didn't want to ruin any valuable minerals. Or the people working near you, for that matter.  
There were several large cave-like chambers that the girls saw, but Serena guessed that there were more further into the mine. They were taken to a cave where not many people were working. Other slaves who were fairly strong but not strong enough to mine were carting chunks of rock away to be examined. They used wheel-barrow type things to transport the rocks. Droids watched the slaves work carefully. The girls set to work on one end of the wall.   
After two hours of working, they were worn out, but were forced to keep working. Sweat trickled down their faces as they swung the heavy picks and other tools. The work took longer because of the dull edges of the tools, and when the rock did break, the had to chips it into smaller pieces. Some areas of the wall were jagged and it was easy to find a part to chip off. The ones that were fairly even were very hard. They had to chip away a part of the rock to make a small ledge. Then they had to bring the tools down on the ledge to break off the rock below.  
Serena had more trouble than the others because of her sore back. It still stung harshly, and each swing of her pick was pure agony. After two hours her back had become some-what numb, but she still felt the pain. She didn't complain and tried to look like she was fine, but her friends were still worried about her. She insisted she was fine and that it just stung a little when she lifted the pick. She told them it was more of an annoyance than a pain, but they didn't seem to believe her. Serena began to think that they knew her too well.  
After the third hour working, the droids yelled at them to speed up. They had been slowing down over the past hour. One of the droids' whips snapped at their heels and they hurriedly began working harder. It looked like other slaves were having the same problems, though some had been working in the mines long enough to have built up enough strength to keep going. The girls weren't sure how long they could keep up their pace, and worried about what would happen if they collapsed. They would probably be whipped badly and forced to keep working.  
Luckily, half an hour later the droids called a break. The girls sank to their feet and tried to catch their breath. A cup of water was given to them to share. They all got less than a mouthful, but it was better than nothing. They saw that the other groups of slaves were also given a cup of water. None of the girls spoke; they took the time to relax and rest up for the next few hours of work. They didn't really think they would be able to handle it, but they knew that if they didn't there would be consequences.  
A whistle blew a few minutes later and the girls struggled to their feet and resumed working.  
  
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Okies, I planned to do an author's note, but I am just writing this quickly so I can get this out faster. I meant to get it out three days ago when I finished writing it, but I didn't have time. Sorry! But I LOVED the reviews!!! PLEASE WRITE MORE!!!!!!


	9. Chapter 8

DWch8

** AN:** I think this is the longest chapter yet!! It's more than 12 pages, not including the Author's notes! I had an important Author's note all planned out, but it's on my other computer... which is broken. *sob* But I will post it later, so don't worry!  
By the way, I need a muse. Anyone know of one the isn't taken?  
*Garfield appears and looks around.*  
Um..... I was thinking of some anime character....  
*Garfield dissapears*  
......Wierd......**  
  
  
  
Chapter 8**  
  
An hour and a half later another break was called. The girls were relieved to find that the slaves working in the mines were given a small lunch so they could keep up there strength. When they had begun working after the first break, Ami had nearly collapsed. When a woman at the other side of the room fell, she was whipped and put back to work as the droids watched carefully. Ami and the others drew upon strength they didn't know they had to prevent sharing the fate of the other slave.  
By the time lunch was called, the five girls were working quite slowly. They had welts on their calves where the droids whips had hit them to make them work harder. Their tools dropped to the floor with loud clangs, and they leaned against each other for support as they wearily sank to their feet once again. Ami was almost too weak to eat, but the others forced her to. Not that they were in much better condition. The rations were small; a piece of bread, a glass of water, and a small piece of meat. The bread was stale, the meat tasted funny, and the water was dirty, but by then they barely noticed.  
They had been working for about five hours with only a few minutes rest. They were ready to drop. They didn't move at all during the second break except to eat. The rest of the time they used to rest. They were given twenty minutes to rest. It was longer than the last break by fifteen minutes, but still was far from enough.  
Instead of returning to work with the tools, the guards gave them carts and told them to collect the chipped off rocks. Other tired miners were told to do the same, though many had to keep working. Fresh miners came in to work. They had been doing other jobs that morning, but weren't so tired that they couldn't mine. Serena and Mina were given a cart with four wheels that could be moved easily, and the other three girls were given one as well. They were thankful that they didn't have to use the wheelbarrows; their backs were sore and they didn't want to have to be leaning over and pushing heavy loads. The wheelbarrows also could tip easily, and these other carts could not. Still, it was not an easy task that they had been given.  
They took turns pushing and bringing the rocks to the cart. The caverns seemed never ending, and they wondered how they would ever to find their way out if the droids weren't there.  
A woman around 25 was working with a wheelbarrow in the same room as the girls two hours later. Serena looked at her with sympathy; she looked more tired than they were. She didn't seem to be cut out for this kind of work. They turned their attention back to their work. Mina got whipped once on her back when she stumbled and dropped the rock she was carrying. It took both Lita and Raye to hold her back from charging at the guard, while Ami stood in front of her trying to reason with her. She calmed down but watched the girls carefully after that, and her friends were worried she would attack a guard if one of them got whipped again. Mina tried telling her that she was fine, and it had only been one lash, but it didn't seem to do much good.  
The woman working near them fell, and her wheelbarrow tipped over. One of the guards was immediately over her, preparing to whip her. As the whip came down Serena jumped in the way, blocking it with her arm.  
"How dare you interfere! You will be whipped as well!" the guard yelled.  
"She only fell because you're overworking her!" Serena yelled back in fury. "With all that knowledge you droids are suppose to have, you don't act very smart!"  
"Insolence is not tolerated! I suggest you cease your actions and move away before you earn yourself a greater punishment!"  
Serena hesitated, but didn't move. "How many lashes were you going to give her? Ten? Why don't you give them to me instead."  
"You will already be whipped as well, and if you keep opposing me, you will be whipped more," the droid replied.  
"But why waste a perfectly good slave? She's already tired, but she can still work. If you whip her she won't be able to work at all. Give me thirty instead, and you can watch me to make sure I keep working."  
"She won't learn if she isn't punished for her mistakes."  
"Of course she will. Surely she knows how painful getting whipped can be; she will know she barely escaped being whipped, and I won't be there next time to help her. She'll be more careful and work harder."  
"Fine then. You will get forty lashes, however, to teach you not to interfere," said the guard. His programming didn't cover situations like these in detail, for no one had opposed droids like this, so he chose the way he thought would teach the slaves best.  
"Done." Serena helped the girl up and the droid told her to stand by the wall. Baring her back for the second time that day, she stood against the wall and held onto the rocky ledges for support. Her friends stared at her, and she knew what they were thinking. She had nearly passed out after thirty lashes, and had been in great pain all morning, and now she got herself forty more?!She was informed that if she moved, she would be given another five lashes. She braced herself.  
'_Oh shit, this is going to hurt._'  
  
  
Serena was so happy when she found she wouldn't have to go back to work, she nearly cried. It had been nearly eight hours since they had come to work in the mines. Now for the next two hours or so, they were going to be working in the kitchens. A droid had come to get them as the last few lashes were delivered. She had collapsed, and Ami was permitted to take her to the Medical Room. Serena had been leaning against the rock wall heavily, barely able to stand after the first twenty lashes. But she was stronger than most, as has been said before, and kept herself upright. But she knew she would never make it if she had to go back to the hard work of mining or transporting rocks. The woman had looked so scared, so tired, she had had to intervene. And she didn't regret it.  
After Ami used a medical device to heal her back, the went to the kitchen. Her back still hurt badly, but it was healed enough so that she could work. It also prevented scars, which Serena was grateful for. Not because she was vain, but because she didn't want the Androids to have any reminder of pain they had caused her. To show them they had hurt her was to show weakness and vulnerability.  
In the kitchens the set to work making food. Lita was going crazy at the slop, and was trying to make it better. Even with the limited supplies, it seemed to taste better, though Lita got whipped once when tasting her work to see if it needed anything. Apparently the droid thought she was trying to get more food for herself. She would have been whipped more and removed from the kitchen, but Lita calmly told him what she had been doing, promised not to do it again, and directed him to a file on cooking. Normally they wouldn't be able to be convinced, but when Lita told the droid about books on cooking that might be in his database to clear her name, he relented. On the condition that she never did it again. Lita's act of humbleness also helped.  
The other girls were quite surprised. Raye and Serena got off the floor where they had fallen when Raye had literally jumped on Serena to keep her from attacking the droid. Lita confessed to being surprised as well; she had just been trying to get out of being whipped. She also didn't want to leave the kitchen. She loved cooking, and while she worked in the kitchen was probably the closest to being happy she would get now. Besides, the slaves deserved better food. Reminded of that, they all started cooking again. Lita guided them and watched over their work, while somehow still doing most of the cooking herself. Her friends were happy to see that she _did_ look more cheerful, if only a bit.  
For the next two hours, Serena muttered obscenities under her breath as she worked. Her back hurt like hell, she felt like she was going to collapse from the pain, and the heat from the ovens didn't help. Any other person would have been unconscious after forty lashes, even if there was space between them. Many would have been unconscious after only thirty. She had had seventy that day, and was wishing she _was_ unconscious. She told her friends that she was fine, knowing that they would probably get too worried if they thought otherwise.  
Along with the five girls were several older women working in the kitchen. They didn't talk at all, so the girls didn't bother them. Between all of them, dinner was ready on time and ready to be served about two hours after the girls had come. Lita and Raye showed the other girls how much the slave rations were, since they had worked in the kitchen part of the day before. Lita, however, had made more food without using many more ingredients by adding water or milk to some things and allowing them to cook a little longer, or some other trick to make more food out of what she had. She did quite well, and they were able to give the slaves more food.  
After eating quickly in the kitchens, they set to work cleaning up. They had to put all the ingredients away, mop the floors, wipe the counters, store away any unused food, wash the cooking pots, pans, and utensils, and dry them all. They also had to clear the tables in the Mess Hall and wash all the dishes, utensils, and cups that the slaves used. It took more than three hours to get everything done. When they were finally allowed to go back to their rooms, Serena could barely walk. This time she couldn't hide in from her friends and they immediately went into a frenzy helping her back, even though they were also exhausted. Serena was surprised she had even managed to keep herself from collapsing the past few hours of cleaning; her back was hurting so bad that it made her dizzy.  
As soon as they got back to the room, she collapsed on her bed. Her friends started running around getting her water, a cold washcloth for her forehead, her night clothes, and whatnot. Serena finally yelled at them to shut up and go to bed, and they did, after much protesting, when Serena told them she needed sleep. Serena lay on her stomach so as not to hurt her bruised back. She sighed into the pillow.  
"Serena?" Lita whispered. "Are you ok?"  
"Lita," Serena said slowly, "GO TO SLEEP!"  
"Yes'm." Lita replied quickly. This sent the other girls into a fit of giggles, and Serena sighed again, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. She was glad they could still have times where they could laugh together, just like five regular girls spending time with their friends. The Androids couldn't take their friendship.  
  
  
The next morning the girls were awoken at five the next morning. They were no longer given extra sleep because the drug had totally worn off. Ten minutes later, breakfast was given to them.  
"Ug, how makes this slop?" Raye said, making a face at the gruel like substance in her bowl. "They REALLY need you in the kitchen, Lita. But it's good you don't have to wake up early to make breakfast. They ones who make breakfast probably have to get about at about three!"  
"Yeah, I'm glad I don't have to get up that early, but I wish I could make the food better for everyone," Lita said, trying to break apart her stale bread. So far, the bread was winning.  
"Aw, Lita, always thinking with your heart. That's why I like you so much," Serena said with a grin.  
"Definitely," Mina said. "So selfless, wanting to make the food better for the slaves."  
"We'd better hurry and finish eating, they'll take away our food if we're not done in time," Raye warned.  
"Yes, but this is the kind of thing you have eat slowly. To make sure you don't gag," Ami muttered. The other girls laughed. Quiet Ami surprised them sometimes.  
  
  
Ten minutes later the guards came back in. Apparently they had been informed of the girls' assignments for the day, and were going to take them to where they needed to be. Lita went back to the Kitchens, Raye and Mina went to the cleaning headquarters, and Ami was assigned to help out in the Medical Room, which pleased her. Another guard led Serena away without saying where she was to be taken. Once again, two guards followed behind.  
After going a short distance, the guard stopped infront of a large door. Serena looked up and recognized it immediately.  
"Oh crap," she muttered.  
  
  
"Good morning, Tenshi," 17 greeted as Serena was escorted into the room. It was the same room she was always in, and she had come to loathe it. 17 was stretched out on the cushions of the dais.  
The guards left and she went up to the dais, wondering what kind of torture she would go through today. She wished she was working in the mines again. It wasn't nearly as bad as serving 17. She would rather be whipped than served him. Of course, he counted on that.  
She sighed and plopped down on the cushions.  
"How was your day yesterday?" 17 asked.  
"I still need a toothbrush," Serena muttered, leaning back against a mound of pillows behind her. She wished he wouldn't look so amused at everything she did and said.   
"Yes, I know. I didn't think you would be able to find any in the mines," he said. Serena just glared at him.   
"We have a busy day ahead of, Tenshi," he said, sitting up.  
"Oh joy," Serena muttered.  
An intercom link opened. "Sir, the tailors are here," came the voice of a droid.  
"Send them in," 17 replied. The doors to the room were opened and two girls about Serena's age (early twenties) walked in carrying some white cloths. Several guards followed behind them and stood in front of the doors. The girls knelt before the dais and Serena raised her eyebrows at their actions.  
"You may rise," 17 said in a nonchalant tone. The stood and 17 turned to Serena. "Your outfits," he said, gesturing to the bundles the girls were carrying. Serena raised one eyebrow again and sighed.  
"Here, let me see," she said to the girls. They stepped forward and held the outfits before her. She took them gently so they wouldn't have to hold them and began looking them over. There was one simple tunic like outfit made for a female, one set of a skirt and halter top, and one slightly different tunic. There were all pure white. She lifted the skirt and halter and gave 17 an incredulous look. He just shrugged slightly. She sighed again and lowered the outfit.  
"Did you work hard on these?" she asked the girls.  
"I— uh, we," one girl stuttered, not sure how to answer.  
"We worked very hard so they would please you," the other put in. "But it was no trouble at all," she added quickly. Serena was a bit surprised at the way they were acting, but she supposed it was so as not to be in 17's ill favor.  
"Well, if you worked hard on them I'll wear them. But don't go out of your way to do anything for me. Rags are just fine," Serena said. The girls were shocked at her open resistance to 17's will, and she restrained herself from laughing.  
"Yes mam," the girls said. '_Mam?_ ' Serena thought. '_Oh boy. They must be showing me respect because I'm 17's personal slave._'  
The guards lead the girls out, and she was soon alone with 17 again. She turned back to him. "Are these really necessary?" she asked, lifting the pile of clothes.  
"You need something more elegant than rags if you're going to be my personal slave," he replied.  
"Yeah, well I think I need a TOOTHBRUSH if I'm going to be you're personal slave. A hairbrush would be nice to, and a bathtub, unless you want me to be a total mess," she muttered. 17 just chuckled, and she refrained from screaming.  
"Those will be more comfortable than rags," 17 said, pointing to the clothes. "You should change into one of those."  
Serena let out an exasperated sigh. "Since I probably don't have a choice, where should I change?"  
"You can change right here," 17 said, lounging back on the pillows and smirking.  
"Uh, ha ha, funny, seriously though."  
"I find your modesty quite amusing. Very well, I'll have the guards show you to an empty room." He opened the intercom and called for a guard who led Serena to an empty room much like the first. However it was smaller, there was a table in the center, and there was no dais. Serena sighed and changed her clothes after the guard had left.  
'_They will be more comfortable. I'm just taking advantage of the situation to be more comfortable._' She thought to herself.   
'_God I hate this._'  
She knocked on the door when she was done, and the guard led her back to 17.  
"Very nice," he murmured, looking her over. She wanted to gag.  
"Yeah yeah," she muttered as she settled back on the cushions. 17 just grinned. Well, smirked.  
"I still don't see why I have to wear these. If you don't look Egyptian, why the hell do I have to?" Serena said crossly.  
"Because you look nice in it, because my personal slave should look more respectable than wearing rags, and besides, my hair is Egyptian and that's more than enough for me."  
"Actually, you don't have Egyptian hair. You would have to be bald."  
"What?!?"  
"Yeah, smart one. Anyone who was of any class was bald. They wore wigs. And the wigs always had bangs anyway. Only slaves and peasants had their own hair."  
"Well then it's a good thing I don't care anything about looking Egyptian. 18 is the one who thinks it's interesting."  
"Then why do I have to look Egyptian?!?" Serena practically yelled.  
"Because you look nice, because my personal slave should not wear rags, and it's only an Egyptian style because 18 is obsessed with this new game of hers and because you look nice."  
"I'm not going to get a different answer no matter how many times I ask, am I?"  
"Well, that one was a little different."  
"I'm not going to win this, am I?"  
"No."  
"Damn. So, what kind of boring leader thing do I have to sit through today?" Serena asked, trying to change the subject.  
"The head slaves of each work section will be reporting to myself and 18. We also need a new head slave for the kitchen," he responded, closing his eyes and resting his hands under the back of his head.  
"I say Lita. She makes the food taste better without using up too many ingredients, plus she can make more food with basically the same amount of ingredients." Serena said as she reclined against the cushions.  
"Well, we don't want the slaves to be _too_ comfortable," said 17.  
"The better they eat, the better they'll work."  
"True. I will discuss it with 18."  
"Good. Discuss getting me a toothbrush while your at it."  
  
  
The rest of the day was fairly uneventful. The head slaves reported to 17 and 18 in their viewing chamber, which was used to give orders, receive reports, etc. It was the same room the girls had been taken to on their first and second mornings. The two Androids lounged on the cushions of the dais, while Serena was made to sit on the steps at 17's feet. She basically tuned out the entire thing, occupying herself with the fountains and tapestries in the room, thoughts of what her friends were doing, and anything else that could keep her busy as she sat in the room for nearly three hours. Next she continued to sit in the same spot at 17's feet as he and 18 discussed various things ranging from slave progress to world events. That took another two hours. Needless to say, she was bored out of her wits. She had almost fallen asleep, when she was told that she and 17 were going back to his rooms.  
She yawned the whole way and practically collapsed on the cushions when they got back.  
"Bored, Tenshi?" 17 asked lightly as he settled on the dais beside her.  
"Extremely," she muttered.  
"We have a little time before we need to be anywhere else. You can rest."  
  
  
The rest of the day was spent following 17 around like a lost puppy while he went to different work stations to see how things were going and to get reports from the overseers. Serena was tempted to wander off in another direction, but the guards walking behind her prevented her from escaping the extreme boredom. She was dismissed to go to dinner with the rest of the slaves, and worked in the kitchen with Lita afterwards. Lita was anxious to know about her day, but Serena was too tired to talk much. At ten, they were allowed to go back to their room. The other girls arrived about the same time they did.  
"Seventeen hour work day," Serena grumbled as she got ready for bed. "They must be trying to kill us. And I just walked around and sat all day, and I'm exhausted. I can tell that the days I'm actually working are going to be just dandy."  
She was about to collapse on her bed when she noticed something on it. She looked down, and saw a collection of toothbrushes, toothpaste, and hair brushes. She picked one up slowly, catching the attention of the other girls.  
"Well, what do you know," Lita murmured.  
Raye shook her head. "I don't get it. But I'm not complaining." she took a hair brush and immediately set to work on her tangled hair.  
  
  
When the girls went to bed, Serena lay awake awhile longer, thinking about the gift that had appeared on her bed. She knew 17 must have sent them. She could never understand him. She knew he was up to something, but she couldn't figure it out. She decided not to think about it, but to just be alert. She went to sleep, knowing the morning would come too soon.  
  


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The next day the girls went to the same jobs they had had the day before. Serena was dismayed that she would have to spend yet another day serving 17, but knew better than to complain. Once she got to his chambers and was settled on the dais, she pulled out one of the five hairbrushes that had been left on her bed the night before. She held it up and raised an eyebrow at 17. Returning the look, he simply said,  
"You made a good argument."  
Serena just shrugged, took her hair out of the bun, and set to work brushing it vigorously.  
  


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A week passed by. Have the time the girls worked in the mines, and the other have they worked in the places they had been assigned to their third and fourth days. Lita was in the kitchens, Amy worked in the Medical Room, and Raye and Mina did cleaning. Serena served 17. All of the girls were slowly becoming stronger from the work in the mines, though they had been very strong already. They found out that most of the people put into the mines to work for more than once a week died. And those were the strongest of the slaves.  
The girls had taken their first visit to the washroom. They had been crowded in a large bathtub that looked more like a swimming pool with about fifty other women. The bath went into the ground instead of rising up, like what was used in egyptian places. But since everything else was egyptian theme, the girls weren't too surprised. The bath was pure chaos, with everyone trying to share the limited supply of soap and shampoo and such while at the same time trying to finish washing before their time was up. Each group didn't have a long time to wash and it was hard when a few bars of soap had to go around and be used by fifty women. The five girls barely finished washing their bodies in time, and had to skip washing their hair that week.  
Needless to say, they were not looking forward to bathing again. It didn't help when their were droids watching you that had a distinct male appearance, even though they were just robots. It was very disturbing. And the towels weren't in good shape. And so on.  
  
It was a new day, and Serena was going to serve 17 again. Oh joy. It still humiliated her, and she wished she didn't have to do it. The droids led her down the familiar halls and opened the doors to 17's chambers. She sighed and walked into the room that she served 17 in, the one she had been brought to when she had first started serving him. The droids closed the door after her, though one droid remained inside. He gave a report to 17 as Serena walked up to the dais. 17 watched her for a moment before turning back to the droid. Serena didn't quite follow the exchange, because whatever they were talking about was said partially in code. The droid left and 17 looked thoughtful.  
Serena remained standing for a moment, looking around the room at the tapestries hanging on the walls. She had seen them before, of course, but the still filled her with a slight feeling of awe. She held back a yawn, blinking back her sleepiness.  
She turned her attention back to 17. He wasn't looking at her. He seemed to be thinking deeply about something. Not that Serena cared; if he didn't pay any attention to her at all, she would be thrilled.  
17's eyes came back into focus and he sighed. He turned his head to Serena.  
"Come her, Tenshi," he said, holding out his hand. She started walking towards him and he turned his gaze in front of him once more, his hand still out for her. She stopped beside him, but did not take his proffered hand. He noticed this, and wiggled his fingers a bit, not turning his head to look at her. She reluctantly took his hand, and he pulled her down beside to him. Before she was fully seated, he let go of her hand and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her into his lap as he did so. He noticed her look of surprise and smirked slightly.  
When Serena came out of her initial shock and her mind registered what he had done, his arm was already securely around her. He held her firmly, but surprisingly gently, and she decided it would not be wise to struggle. With his other hand, he gently pushed her back a bit so that she was leaning against his chest. She let him guide her, even though her heart was pounding a mile a minute and she just wanted to jump up and run out of there. She did _not_ want to be in this position.  
17 sighed again, his chest rising and lifting her slightly. His other arm went around her waist as well. For some reason, she felt almost— comfortable. Probably because of the lack of sleep. She quickly forced herself to remember that this was an _android_ she was leaning against.  
She was brought out of her thoughts as 17 spoke.   
"The things I have to put up with... you wouldn't imagine what I have to go through sometimes, Tenshi." Serena said nothing. She would have replied with something like, if he got rid of the slaves life wouldn't be so hard, or something insulting or sarcastic. Unfortunately, she was till a bit unnerved by her position, and didn't trust herself to speak.  
They sat in silence for awhile. Serena felt her eyes growing heavy, despite her attempts to stay awake. She hadn't gone to bed until very late the night before, and had gotten little sleep. She wondered vaguely if 17 was going to say or do something, but she wasn't sure if she really wanted him to. She didn't know what to expect from him, and most of the time she didn't like it.  
After a few more minutes she couldn't fight it any longer, and she fell asleep.  
  
17 noticed Serena's steady breathing and knew she had fallen asleep. He smirked slightly as he watched her. Her face held a look of peace. Her head had turned slightly, and was leaning against his shoulder. A stray lock of hair had fallen into her face, and he brushed it away absently. She truly was a beauty. It was too bad she was human. He liked her strength, and her defiance. It didn't seem to bore him as it had when shown by the Saiyan boy, Trunks. She was fiery, and yet there seemed to be a gentleness around her. He could only see it at times like these, when she slept or when she let her guard down. It intrigued him.  
He was quite shocked when, a moment later, she nestled her head under his chin. He blinked with surprise, and recovered from his shock. He gently brought her legs around to his right so she would be more comfortable. To his further astonishment, she snuggled closer to him, her right side now leaning against him. Amused with his human-like reaction, he again wrapped his arms around her waist. After all, he had been planning to seduce her at some point. As was said before, she intrigued him, so how could he not? Though he knew that her actions in sleep were not consciously done, and when awake she would act quite differently. But it was a start.  
  
  
About an hour later, a small beep was heard. 17 sighed. He reached over a flipped open a panel on the floor of the dais. He pushed a button to open the connection of the intercom, but left the screen behind him off.  
"Yes?" he said, hiding his annoyance. He talked fairly softly so as not to wake Serena.  
"17, we need to go. We have business to attend to," 18's voice came through.  
"I thought that was later?"  
"Plans have changed. I'll explain on the way."  
"Very well, I'll meet you in the main room in a few minutes," he said. He cut off the connection and looked down at the bundle in his arms. For some reason, he didn't want to leave her. He sighed again and carefully picked her up. He carried her into his bedroom, holding her gently. He lay her on the bed and looked down at her. He reached out and gently caressed her cheek before turning away. He dimmed the lights before he went out, giving her one last glance.  
  
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** AN:** Ok, I know a lot of you are thinking Woah, that was wierd.' Don't worry, more will be added soon!! Please review, even if you didn't like it so much. PLEASE?!?!? **I'LL BE SO HAPPY IF YOU WOULD JUST REVIEW!!!!! **Thanks!!! =) =) =)


	10. Chapter 9: The Search Begins

AN: **IF YOU WANT TO KNOW INFO ON THE STORY, YOU SHOULD READ THIS:****** Hi guys! Sorry this took so long. I finished this chapter in August, but when I re-read it, I realized something very important; it sucked. So this is revised and also co-written with a friend who would like to remain anonymous. This chapter has some wierd, semi-funny, non-important stuff in it that was written at two o'clock in the morning when I was in between a state of falling asleep and a state of total hyperness from caffine.  
Anyways, here is the story. Some personal notes are next, and I would REALLY appreciate if you would read them; they may interest you.  
I am looking for online DBZ/GT episode summeried, prefferably with pictures. I am also looking for good quality DB GT fansubs (tapes with subtitles) and stuff for my new Vegeta/Serena shrine. (Vegeta/Serena fanart, computer made pics, fanfics, etc.) The last thing I am looking for are crossover pics (fanart or computer made, showing crossover couples). PLEASE E-MAIL ME OR LEAVE A URL IN YOUR REVIEW IF YOU KNOW WHERE I CAN FIND THIS STUFF. ALSO E-MAIL ME TO SUBMIT VEGETA/SERENA STUFF FOR THE SHRINE. **THANKS!!!  
  
  
Disclaimer:** I do not own DBZ or SM, but I do own this story.**  
  
  
CHAPTER 9**  
  
Serena woke up slowly. She willed herself to go back to sleep, but her mind wouldn't oblige. She could see the sunlight behind her eyelids. She suddenly felt confused; hadn't she already woken up that morning? She didn't remember going to sleep at night after the last time she had woken up. She opened her eyes slowly, letting them adjust to the light. She looked around, realizing she wasn't in her room. Her eyes fell on 17 sitting beside her on the bed, and they widened slightly in surprise. '_Oh no, this is not happening,_' she thought.  
"I was wondering when you were going to wake up, Tenshi. Perhaps we should allow you more sleep. We can't have you falling asleep while you're working." 17 was sprawled out against the pillows casually, watching her. Serena sat up quickly. Her mind whirled. She didn't want to think about what might have happened after she had fallen asleep. And she had fallen asleep in his arms, no less, she remembered with disgust.   
17 stood slowly and stretched. "Well if your ready, we have things to do," he said as he walked out of the room. Serena stared at the doorway he had just exited through for a moment. She shook her head and followed him out.   
17 led her through a room that look suspiciously like the one on the other side the doors to his chambers. Leading her out into the hallway, she saw it _was_ the same room. Her suspicions were confirmed; she had been sleeping in his bed.   
She vowed to take that information with her to the grave.  
  


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Serena swore under her breath as she limped to the Medical room. She had been whipped again, as she usually was when she was working in the mines. She had made a sort of game out of aggravating the droids. Unfortunately, since they had no feelings or emotions, it wasn't all that satisfying. The Androids had more emotions then they did! But just defying them was enough. She didn't see 18 much, so she couldn't annoy the female android. Which was probably for the better since 18's punishments were worse than the droid's now. Serena was happy to know that she had gotten under the android's skin. Anything to make their lives miserable, she would gladly do.  
After getting bandaged and partially healed from the medical thingy-ma-doodle device, Serena headed towards the kitchens where she would be working with Lita and Ami for the rest of the evening. She had spent all day chipping at rocks. She had found a large pocket of minerals. They were like nothing she had ever seen before, but she had been too tired to take much notice. She had had to chip away around them slowly. Unfortunately, if you chipped slowly, you could make a very large chip in the rock. You had to bring the tool, usually a pick, down hard, which meant fast. But if you brought it down fast, you might hit the mineral. Serena had felt like screaming many times while she was working, but settled for swearing at the droids.  
Reaching the kitchens, Serena saw Ami working on the far side of the room and gave her a small smile before being hustled away by Lita to work somewhere else. Lita was running all over the place, adding ingredients, testing to see if things were cooked, chopping and shredding and mixing and cleaning. Serena was quickly put to work chopping herbs, feeling little dizzy with Lita running every which way.  
  
The girls had been working as slaves for nearly three weeks now. They had become used to the life and the work, and knew where things were and where to go. Serena served 17 mostly, but worked in the mines some days. Lita was working in the kitchen every day, but luckily didn't have to get up early to make breakfast. Ami was in the Medical Room everyday, and Raye and Mina switched off mining and cleaning. 18 had wanted Serena and Lita to do mining all the time, for they were the strongest of the group, but 17 had wanted Serena to serve him and convinced 18 to let Lita work in the kitchens. His reasoning had been that the better the slaves ate, the better they would work; the same reasoning that Serena had used, but he didn't tell 18 that. If she thought that Serena wanted Lita to work in the kitchens, she wouldn't have allowed it, just to be cruel.  
18 was still annoyed that 17 never did anything to Serena when she talked back or was insolent. He never punished her, he just let her get away with it. He had never done that with any other slave, even if they _were _attractive females. But 18 let him to as he pleased. She knew that he was planning something. Probably to seduce the girl. Not that she cared, but she didn't think he should let her act like that towards him. But he had his ways.  
  
  
"17, I want to borrow your slave," 18 told her brother one morning. 17 raised an eyebrow.  
"Oh? Whatever for?" he replied.  
"I was wondering what it was you saw in her, and besides, it would be nice having someone to do things for me. I might get a personal slave of my own, since the other girls don't serve us directly as we had planned. I know your busy today, so let me take her. I have things to do she can help with."  
17 thought a moment. He knew 18 would find some way to use his answer to mock him if he said no. He didn't really mind if it was only for one day, since it was true that Serena wouldn't have served him that day anyway.  
"Fine," he told her, "but only one day. If you want one, get your own. You know she's mine."  
"I know, brother."  
  
  
18 took Serena to the tailors first. She was having Egyptian robes made. She looked over designs as Serena stood, bored. The slaves outfitted her with royal attire and 18 examined it in a long mirror.  
"What do you think?" she asked Serena.  
"Not that it matters, I think you need a headdress," Serena replied. 18 turned to her, intrigued.  
"A headdress?"  
"Yeah, one of those gold ones. The hanging part should be just as long as your hair. And you need a gold bracelet that is in a spiral. Maybe two," Serena suggested thoughtfully. Whatever it took to get her out of there, she would do. She was bored to tears. 18 turned back to the mirror, thinking about Serena's suggestions.  
"Maybe your not so bad after all. You have a wonderful fashion sense," 18 said.  
Serena snorted. "Great. A good fashion sense. I'll add that to the list of my good qualities." 18 just laughed.  
"Ok, what do you think of a dress made out of this?" 18 held up a bolt of blue cloth. It was a rich color, and a fancy material. Serena cocked her head to the side in thought as she studied it.  
"Hold it up to you," she said. 18 ignored the fact that a slave was giving her an order and held it to herself. "I don't think so. It's nice, but it doesn't suit your eyes. Maybe a sea green, or fusia, but not that shade of blue."  
  
The rest of the day went faster than Serena had thought it would. She spent most of the day with 18 going over outfit designs. She almost had fun, but not quite. She was, after all, a slave, and 18 was a murdering android. But at least Serena hadn't been as bored when she was making suggestions.  
  


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Serena sighed as the guards closed the doors behind her, and she was once again left alone with 17. She walked up to the dais and sat beside 17, who was lying on his back with his head propped up on several blue satin pillows. His eyes were closed.  
"I'm relaxing today. 18 is handling everything," 17 said without opening his eyes.  
"So you don't need me today?" Serena kept her voice even and her face void of emotion, though inside she was feeling hopeful. 17 opened one eye to look at her.  
"I always need you, Tenshi," he said. Serena held back a groan. So much for getting out of the humiliation that had become routine in her life. 17 opened his other eye and sat up.  
"Well then, what do you want to do today, Tenshi?" he asked as he formed a pile of pillows and leaned against them.  
"Does my opinion really matter?" Serena responded, raising an eyebrow incredulously.  
"That depends on what you want to do."  
"I want to go swimming. To the beach maybe," she said, leaning back on the pillows. She didn't expect him to do anything about what she said, but she thought she might as well humor him. "Or take a nice hot bath instead of those cold ones we always get. Hey! I've got it! Let's free all the slaves!" She said the last part sarcastically.  
"I don't think that last one is such a good idea," 17 said.  
"Why not? You would probably get more done. The droids would work much better than the slaves. They don't need food or water or sleep. They don't need rest, they are stronger, and they won't die," Serena said. "And there are so many droids just watching the slaves work. Besides, many of the slaves just cook for the others, clean the slave barracks, or mend slave clothing. If there were no slaves and all the droids worked, there would probably be more workers than before."  
"That's true. But there are a limited amount of droids that can be built. And some droids do mine. But if we wanted to get rid of the slaves, we would just kill them, not free them. Why make them happy? They should fear us," 17 replied.  
"Ok, scratch that idea," Serena muttered.  
"Besides, killing humans has lost most of it's entertainment, but making them slaves is a new game. Though sometimes I find sit more of a bother. It does amuse me at times, however. And 18 loves it, so I let her have her fun."  
"Game. Of course, a game. Oh boy," Serena muttered. "You know what? You need a hobby."  
"This is a hobby," 17 objected.  
"Says you, El Diablo."  
17 thought for a minute. "Well, that hot bath sounds nice," he said suggestively.  
"You do know that I meant just me?"  
"Does it make a difference?"  
"Let's just forget the whole thing, ok?"  
  
  
TWO HOURS LATER:  
Serena looked around the room for the hundredth time, totally bored. 17 seemed content to just lay there and watch her, which annoyed her to no end. Though currently he had his eyes closed. She sighed. She actually wished she were working in the mines. At least it was something to do. Except for the few short conversations which always turned for the worst and she tried to end as soon as possible, nothing had happened the past few hours.  
She picked up a grape from one of the bowls of fruit on the steps and examined it. "I wonder if I could balance this grape on my forehead," she said muttered. 17 opened one eye and looked at her incredulously.  
"Why would you want to?" he asked.  
"Because I have nothing else to do and if I don't do something I will go crazy," she replied.  
"Well, that hot bath offer is still open."  
"Oh, shut up."  
  
After that, Serena had decided to just not say anything. He always managed to say something to make her uncomfortable. But when she could find nothing else to break the silence, she started to feel like screaming. She directed her attention to the fountains. They had once seemed very pretty, but now they were seemed excruciatingly boring. She stared at them for several minutes.  
"You need fish," she said finally. 17 looked from her to the fountain, and back at her. He raised an eyebrow.  
"Why?"  
"Because fish would make the fountains less boring. And they would look nice."  
"You're starting to sound like 18 when she is redesigning something," he said, sounding amused.  
"Fine, I'll suggest it to her."  
  
"You have lots of ideas concerning the slaves," 17 said a bit later, "Why don't you advise me?"  
Serena looked at him incredulously. "You want _me_ to advise YOU? Are you actually asking for my help?"  
"I'm bored. I thought it would be interesting to see what you thought," he replied. "I had planned for us to do other things today, but certain problems occurred." Serena was pleased to see that he looked slightly irritated.  
"How do I know you won't use my ideas to make life _worse_ for the slaves?" she asked suspiciously.  
"I suppose my word wouldn't be enough."  
Serena burst out laughing. When she didn't stop after a minute, 17 frowned. "It's not that funny." But she just kept laughing. After a few minutes, she calmed down enough to talk. Of course she hadn't found it that funny, but she wanted to drag it out as much as possible. Unfortunately, 17 didn't seem too annoyed. She had almost given up in trying to get that sort of reaction from him.  
"My first idea is too free all the slaves for reasons that I mentioned before," she said.  
"Suggestion noted, but don't expect to much."  
"Yeah, well, I figured that. Secondly, put Lita in charge of the kitchens. She can make more food with the same or only a little more ingredients. Not so many slaves will die of hunger or depression," Serena said.  
"How does more food effect depression?"  
"The food will taste better if Lita is in charge. Every little thing helps. I know you don't want them to be happy and blah blah blah, but it would be better if they weren't so depressed that they gave up on life altogether. Sometimes the little things make them feel better, and then they will at least have hope. That will keep them alive and more willing to get through the day's work." '_Not to mention it will make their lives just a little bit better,_' Serena added mentally.  
17 seemed to consider what she had said. Serena had hoped that he would, but half expected him to promptly forget what she said. "I'll mention it to 18," he said after a moment. Serena smiled inwardly, though she didn't let it show on her face. Maybe she would be able to make a difference here.  
  


**********  


  
Serena yawned loudly as she trudged towards 17's room the next morning. The guards no longer escorted her, for whatever reason. She looked up sleepily at the sound of footsteps coming towards her and saw it was 17. He turned her around in the middle of the hall and herded her forward quickly. "Com on, we've got to go," he told her, sounding a little hassled. He seemed to be trying to get away from something as quickly as possible.  
"Where are we going?" Serena asked as she hurried to keep up the pace.  
"To get fish," 17 muttered, obviously annoyed. Serena stared at him for a second as her mind registered what he had said. Then she burst out laughing.  
  
After awhile they, had come to a large door that Serena hadn't seen before. 17 had blindfolded her and led her as they walked from then on. It suddenly hit Serena where they were going. If they were going to get fish.... then that meant they were going outside! She felt a surge of happiness. She hadn't been outside since she had been captured, which had been more than a month before. She heard the sound that sounded almost like a car door opening, but thought that it must have been something else. But she discovered that it was definitely a car when 17 guided her into it. What in the world did an Android want with a car? 17's hand left hers for the first time since she had been blindfolded, and she heard him close the door and walk around the car. Instead of opening the other door, she felt the seat shift as he jumped over the side of the car. '_A convertible, huh? Oooookay,_' she thought. She heard something that sounded like a wall moving, and she felt the car moving forward. And then they were outside.  
She could feel the sun against her face and the wind around her. She grinned, unable to hid her joy at finally being out of the prison she had been in for so long. She thought she would never see the sunlight again. Not that she could see it now, still being blindfolded, but she doubted that 17 was going to keep her blindfolded the whole trip. She leaned back and enjoyed the feel of the wind in her hair.  
About ten minutes later, 17 took the blindfold off. Serena looked around and saw that they were driving in a red convertible. She raised an eyebrow. '_Nice car, though...'_ They were currently on a highway that had somehow survived the destruction that plagued the rest of the world. She glanced over at 17 and saw that he seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the ride. She turned back to look out her side of the car. The window was rolled down, and she rested her arm on the door. She watched as green grass and a few trees flew by, finding joy at the sight of a bird overhead— the first bird she had seen in a very long time. Even before her capture, the city she and the other girls had stayed in didn't have any birds. The force of the wind nearly tore her hair tie off, and she had to hold her pony tail in her hand to keep it from flying everywhere.  
A few minutes later 17 put the car hood back up. "I need to talk to you, and you wouldn't have been able to hear me with the top down," he explained. Serena nodded, still watching the side of the road. The windows were left down, but the wind was more of a breeze. She took out her hair tie, which had been almost down to the bottom of her ponytail, and started to put her long hair into a bun.  
"So 18 decided she wanted fish, huh?" Serena said with a smirk as she twisted her hair into place.  
"Apparently. But you should know that; _I_ didn't tell her." 17 replied.  
"So I mentioned it last night when I saw her. I didn't think she would take it seriously," Serena said as she struggled to get the hair tie to go around the bun a second time. It wasn't an easy task; since her hair was so long, the bun was quite large.  
"One thing you should know about 18: she has her own idea of fun, and if she thinks she wants something, she has to have it," 17 muttered as he recalled the conversation earlier that morning. 'I need you to get some tropical fish for me today,' 18 had said. 'Why me?' 17 had asked. 'Well, your not doing anything today, are you?' 18 had replied. A short argument had followed in which 17 had told her to get her own fish and that he wasn't her servant, and 18 had told him fine, she would get her own, she would just borrow his car. And oh, don't blame her if it didn't come back in one piece, because you know how accidents happen, and it also might get a little 'scratched' if she decided to go blow up a city. And no, she couldn't just fly because if people saw her flying they would panic and she wouldn't be able to find out from them where to get the fish, and besides, she was tired of flying.  
And here he was, getting 18 her fish. Her stupid tropical fish that she had threatened the well-being of his car for.  
  
  
Serena finally gave up on her hair and put it into a high pony tail. She watched in amusement at 17 irritated expression as he seemed to remember an unpleasant memory. She guessed it was of 18 convincing him to get her fish. She just wished she could have been there to see it. She looked away quickly and tried to look innocent as 17 seemed to come out of his thoughts.  
"So, where would we go to get tropical fish?" he asked.  
"To a pet store. Or a tropical fish store," Serena said. A thought suddenly struck her. "Unless you guys destroyed them all..."  
"Uhhhhm..."  
"Oh, this is just great."  
"Well, we haven't touched much of South America yet..."  
"Do you speak Spanish?"  
"I could try."  
Serena groaned and and let her head fall onto the dashboard. "Why me?"  
17 patted her on the back sympathetically.  


  


  
"Alright, how much of Japan have you destroyed?" Serena asked once she had regained her composure.  
"Uh... all of it, I think... there might be a few buildings standing," 17 said, trying to remember.  
"Do you really expect someone to be selling fish in a town that is nearly entirely demolished and whose only inhabitants— if any— are people living on the streets with no money and no food and who WOULDN'T EVEN WANT TO BUY FISH ANYWAY?!?!?" Serena slumped into her seat and held her head in her hands.  
17 just shrugged, knowing it would only infuriate her even more. He held back a grin as she growled in frustration. He stayed silent as she tried to calm down. After a few minutes, she tried again.  
"Alright, what about the US? How much of that have you destroyed?"  
"Just the major cities... and a few states...." he said.  
"Your in luck, I speak English," she told him. One of her friends on the streets had taught her one winter to keep their minds off of the cold and their hunger. "But we may not find anything, now that I think about it... Why would anyone be selling fish now? Everyone's probably been busy building secure shelters and advanced weapons to try to defeat you two. No one would be wasting their time with trivial things like fish."  
"Well there was an amusement park open in China last year," 17 said. Serena decided not to ask how he knew that.  
She sighed. "Alright, I want to get this over with. We find a populated area, I find a phone book and we can look up pet stores."  
"_You _find a phone book?"  
"What, do you want to show yourself to everyone?" she asked irritably.  
"Doesn't concern me," he replied.  
"It will slow us down if the army starts bombing us."  
"Fine, I'll stay in the car while you check the phone booths," he agreed. '_And next time 18 can get her own damn fish._'  
"Wait a minute— what country are we in??" Serena asked suddenly.  
"Japan," 17 replied.  
"...You do realize we can't drive to the U.S., right?"  
"I know," he said. He pulled the car over to the side of the road.  
"So how exactly are we going to get there?" Serena asked.  
"We fly," 17 said as he got out of the car.  
"Fly?" Serena repeated, confused. '_As in an airplane? _' She suddenly realized what 17 meant. At the same time, he opened her door. "Oooohhhh no," she said, scooting backwards. 17 reached in pulled her out so fast that she hardly saw him move. One second she was in the car, and the next she found herself several feet from the ground in 17's arms.  
"Fly," 17 said cheerfully. He shot into the air, flying faster than Serena would have liked. She closed her eyes tightly to avoid seeing the ground zooming past, clinging to 17 for dear life. '_Breath, Serena,_' she thought desperately. '_Soon it will be over, you'll be ok, just don't think about it. _' After awhile, she finally gained enough confidence to open her eyes.  
That was a mistake.  
They were flying hundreds— if not thousands— of feet above the ground. Though at this point, they were above an ocean, and land was only a thin brown line in the distance. Serena willed herself not to close her eyes again.  
'_If we're going from Japan to California... this is going to take a looong time. Though I think we're flying faster than an airplane... and we've already been flying nearly half an hour. This had better not take long._' She realized with dismay that they would have to fly back once they were done. '_I hate him, I hate him, I hate him I hate him I hate him Ihatehim IhatehimIhatehimIhatehim _' she thought again and again. Though she didn't look at his face, she was sure that 17 was finding humor in her reaction to flying. '_I hate him I hate him I hate him I hate him I hate him I hate him..._'  
  
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END OF CHAPTER 9  
  
  
  
AN: Ok, I know it wasn't very good. The next chapter will be better, I promise! **AND PLEASE REVIEW!!!!**


	11. Chapter 10

Flamer: You suck!  
EMP: Oh yeah? Well if I suck so much, HOW COME I GOT OVER 200 REVIEWS?!?  
Flamer: Because there is an author war going on in your reviews.  
EMP: ... Yeah, well you smell bad.  
Flamer: WAAAAAHHH!  
EMP: ACK! I'M SORRY!  
Flamer: *cough* sucker *cough*  
EMP: *boots flamer to Kingdom Come* AND TAKE YOUR COCONUTS TOO!!! *turns back to readers*  
Audience: *crickets*  
EMP: Aw man, I scared them all away...  
*the author would like to note at this time that the above note was written at at time when she had little sleep and much sugar. She is not always this weird*  
  
I am so sorry for the long wait! With all the work and stress from my first year of high school (homework, extra curricular activities, etc.), my work at home (I have to help my mom out a lot with housework) and long periods with a lack of inspiration (not to mention the usual teenage periods of depression) this took about 7 months longer than it was suppose to. =P Sure, I could have sat down and thrown something together and posted it, but it would have sucked. I also realized that my writing is pretty bad; after doing tons of english assignments and then going back and looking at some of my early fanfiction work, I was kinda depressed at how bad it was. My writing skills have hopefully improved somewhat. As I get older, I also notice writing style of other fanfics, and I realize that as you all are almost a year older (if you were reading this when the last chapter came out) your view of good writing has matured and this story will seem more childishly written. I went back and read a fic that I thought was a masterpiece two years ago, and realized that the number of grammar and spelling errors made it a lot less appealing, and also that the plot was a lot weaker than I had previously thought. But hey, that's only natural as we get older, right? So in conclusion, very sorry for the horrendous wait, and I hope you still enjoy this fic.  
Important Info: I never said Trunks was dead. I don't know why Takari4ever is telling me that I killed him, but I didn't. Just to clear that up.  
  
I am now going to respond to some flames that I have received. You can skip this if you want, but it may provide some entertainment.  
  
Sakura Princess— erm... if I'm an asshole, why do you want to read my story?  
  
Takari4ever— First you tell me that I killed Trunks (news to me...) and then you want me to tell you if he's alive or not. Then the next day you review again and ask where he is. That is a little contradictory, but you got you got your wish; I told you that he was alive. As for 17 being nice,   
1. He's not all that nice.   
2. I clearly said that this was an alternate universe, so his character may be slightly different.   
Then the next day you leave yet another review and tell me that Trunks is dead again. I never said that Trunks is dead. I also never promised that he would be in this fic as you claim I did, and I even said specifically that he MAY be in it or he MAY NOT be in it. One last thing: in all three reviews you called me a bastard. My parents were happily married when I was conceived, thank you very much.  
  
ssjphoenix— ignoring the fact that there is no SSJ 7, you insult me but don't tell me what's wrong with my story or give me any evidence of my being, as you say, a 'fucking moron'. Your comment about how I may be learning something if I wasn't using a mac is so ridiculous and illogical that it discredits your other comments. I also think that the Japanese are more intelligent than you give them credit for; they wouldn't bomb pearl harbor just because one person out of millions of people is writing a story that isn't written well.  
Let's see... in your second comment you say that BabySerenity has no point to what she says. I'm sorry, did YOU have a point? Your point seemed to be that you wanted to insult me. And when LizBethy was talking about Author's notes, she was referring to Takari4ever, not you. But actually, LizBethy told you that already.  
  
  
As to the author war going on in my reviews, that's fine with me. I haven't actually finished reading it yet, so I'll have to go back and read the rest. ^_^ Special thanks to LizBethy, Cordelia, and BabySerenity for sticking up for me!!!  
  
  
CHAPTER 10  
  
  
Two hours. Two long, boring, terrifying hours. Two hours of having the breath knocked out of her by the force of the wind. Two hours of being held by her worst enemy. Two hours of visualizing his smug expression which she did not dare see for herself. Two hours of pure hell.  
"Enjoy the ride?" 17 asked as he set her down on an empty road.  
"I hate you," Serena growled, finally voicing what she had been thinking over and over again... for the past two hours.... the past two long, horrible—  
She quickly cut off her train of thought, trying to rid herself of the memory. As much as she tried, the feeling of dread at the trip back made it hard for her to think of anything else. Heights were ok. Speed was ok. Extreme speed mixed with extreme heights— that wasn't too good. Add the fact that her life depended on her worst enemy not dropping her— that was bad. Very very bad.  
"Now what?" Serena asked.  
"Now we get a car," 17 told her. Serena sighed. 'This is not a good thing.'  
  
17 had landed close to a town. They walked, since Serena refused to fly anymore until they had to.  
"So what are you going to do? Steal one?" Serena asked.  
"That's the plan."  
"How are you going to get in, break a window? I think it will be a little obvious if we're driving around with a smashed window."  
"It's summer, so windows might be rolled down. We can look around, and if we can't find something that's convenient, then we can get it another way. Though it would be easier just to kill everyone in the city, get what we need, steal a car if we can't find fish here—"  
"Not a chance," Serena interrupted. 17 raised an eyebrow at her.  
"What makes you think you have a say in it?"  
"Use common sense, idiot. Now that you and 18 have made yourselves known, the parts of the world you haven't destroyed will have been getting ready to defend themselves."  
"They won't be able to stop me," 17 said.  
"Maybe not, but we won't get anywhere if our car blows up, and I can be killed by their weapons. And at least for this, you need me. You don't know the first thing about fish." Serena knew that that wasn't entirely true; she had told 17 about pet stores. But he had never seemed to want to kill her before, and she was hoping he still felt that way. She would never be able to help her friends if she was dead.  
"Good reason," 17 agreed. "Though I wasn't going to do it anyway. I just said it would be easier." Serena clenched her teeth and silently counted to ten. 'Stupid... idiotic... moron...' After awhile she ran out of names. She knew she was letting him get to her, but she was not having a good day.  
  
  
An hour later, they were on the road again. Much to Serena's relief, they had found an unlocked car right away, and were able to get going without the country's armed forces trying to kill them. Quite a good accomplishment, she thought. A phone book had been easily found in a nearby phone booth, but it had nothing on pet stores.  
"Pest Control... Pharmacies... Physicians... Poison control... Police... Political Organizations... Priests... no pet stores," Serena read as 17 drove. She sighed. "Also notice there are no things for painting, printing, photography, party planning or stores, planting,... nothing except necessities, it seems. I don't think we're going to find tropical fish anywhere."  
"Did you try under fish?" 17 suggested.  
"Farming, financial aid, and food. Just out of curiosity, how many states did you basically destroy entirely?" Serena asked.  
"Not a lot. Just one or two or twenty," he said. Serena stared at him. Then she threw her hands into the air.  
"That's it. I give up. We'd probably have to go to a coral reef to find tropical fish!"  
"Sounds good to me," 17 said.  
"What?!?!?" But 17 had already stopped the car. "No no no no, wait," Serena said frantically. "Can't we just try one more city? This was only one! Let's try one more before we go flying off to the Bahamas or wherever. I do NOT want to do more flying than I want to!"  
17 shrugged. "Suit yourself."  
Later, Serena was kicking herself for showing him her fear. She had sworn never to show weakness, and now she had.  
'Why did I ever mention fish to 18? I was JOKING, and I was TIRED and I didn't think I would be dragged all over the world to find some stupid fish,' she thought.  
'Man, a few months ago I was living on the streets, fighting droids and sleeping in rubble. I never would have thought that I would be riding around America in a stolen car with one of the androids, my worst enemies.' She took a moment to reflect on her thoughts. 'I hate my life,' she concluded.  
  
It took around a half-hour to reach the next city. The first few buildings seemed normal, though a little rundown. But as they came into the main part of the city, it became apparent that it had been abandoned. There were a few people on the streets, but other than that, there wasn't a thing moving. There wasn't the destruction Serena would have expected; no buildings had been destroyed, and no rubble littered the streets. It seemed odd to her that people would just leave.  
"Stop for a minute, I want to look around," Serena said. 17 pulled over by the side of the road and Serena stepped out of the car.  
"I don't think you'll find anything here," he said.  
"I know, I just want to look," she replied.  
The streets were deserted. There was an eery quiet that seemed out of place; there were no car horns or sounds of traffic, no noise of people coming in and out of buildings. Serena walked towards one building. The doors were unlocked, but it seemed as if the building had been empty for several days at the least. Still looking for any sign of life, or a clue as to the disappearance of it, she noticed that there weren't even any stray animals on the streets.  
"What are you looking for?" Serena was startled by the sound of 17's voice; she hadn't heard him approach.  
"I don't know..." she said softly. There was something wrong with the whole scene, and her mind struggled to comprehend the mystery. She turned as she heard a sound across the street. It came from a run down building, something that might have been a small store at some time. The windows were boarded shut, but the door was open. She made her way over cautiously. 17 stayed by the car and watched her.  
It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the lack of light in the building. Looking around, she saw bundles of rags and trash, but nothing else. A cough alerted her to the presence of another. Turning towards the direction of the sound, she realized that one of the bundles of cloth contained a person. She slowly moved closer and saw that it was a woman. She was middle aged, and looked feverish. She looked at Serena listlessly as she (Serena) knelt down.  
Immediately Serena could see that the woman was dying. Her eyes will glazed and haunted, her face ashen, her limbs weak and trembling slightly. Serena felt her eyes fill with tears as she realized she could do nothing to help the woman. The woman looked so frail and worn. The woman's lips moved slightly, and Serena realized that she was trying to talk.  
"You must leave this place," the woman said, her voice barely a whisper. Serena sat mutely, not knowing what to say. The woman lifted a thin, bony hand and took into it one of Serena's strong ones. "Live," the woman told her. Serena could see from her eyes that she was delirious. "Live."  
Serena nodded, a knot in her throat preventing her from speaking. The woman lowered her hand, a look of relief on her face, as if Serena's nod had reassured her. She closed her eyes and Serena stood. She knew the woman would be dead within minutes, if not seconds. "Sleep, mother," she whispered. She made her way out of the building.  
17 gave her a questioning look, but she ignored him. For some reason, he seemed to have decided to leave her alone. Serena got in the car and stared out the window. There was a hollow feeling in her chest, and she fought back tears. Death wasn't something new to her, but after not seeing the horrors of it for so long, seeing it again had a much larger impact on her. 'She will be at peace, now,' she thought.  
  
Moments after the car had left, a slight wind picked up. Part of a newspaper, dated for the week before, was blown across the sidewalk. The headline read 'Plague Epidemic '.  
  
**********  
  
The trip was spent in silence for the next hour. After reaching another town, Serena checked the phonebook to find that her suspicions had been correct; no pet stores. Leaving the car by the side of the highway, they flew south towards the Caribbean. Serena's mind was far from fish. Though she tried to forget it, the mystery of the ghost town nagged at her. And her encounter with the woman was a painful reminder of Serena's own life. The only semi-good thing was that the her thoughts were a distraction from flying, and she hadn't resisted in the least when they were about to leave.  
A wave of fatigue suddenly hit her. Her emotion drain from the first flight along with her lack of sleep from the night before were catching up to her. She closed her eyes and fell into a mercifully dreamless sleep.  
  
17 glanced down to see that Serena had fallen asleep. Her head rested against his shoulder, one hand lightly grasping the front of his shirt. He knew something had bothered her back in the town, and that she had met someone in the abandoned building. He hadn't asked questions, seeing that she was upset. The trip had been more trouble than he had thought. He had agreed to go mostly because he wanted to get out and thought it would be interesting to take Serena. Otherwise he probably wouldn't have gone. 18 could convince him to do some things, but they both knew that 17 wouldn't have done this without a reason. Getting fish, of all things; he should never have agreed to go, he thought. It was stupid and useless and wasn't worth the trouble. Though it had been fun before they had entered that ghost town. He made a mental note to have a better plan next time they went out.  
He sped up, wanting to get the trip over with. Had Serena been awake he wouldn't have gone so fast, but since she was asleep, he didn't have to worry about her being anxious. He had created a barrier of power in front of her when they were going to America so that they could fly faster without her feeling a difference. That was how they had gotten there so fast. He created a similar barrier now so she wouldn't be awakened from the force of the wind.  
  
************  
  
17 landed on the beach and lay Serena on the sand. He shook her gently to wake her. She muttered something incoherent, batted his hand away, and rolled over. He grinned at her reaction and shook her harder, making sure to erase the smile from his face before she saw it. Her eyes opened slowly and she sat up groggily. She yawned and looked around, blinking as her eyes slowly adjusted to the sunlight. Her eyes widened as she looked in awe at the scene that lay before her.  
The ocean sparkled brilliantly in the sunlight, shining blue and green. Small waves lapped against the sand, creating a soothing sound. The leaves of the palm trees swayed tranquilly in the soft wind, and sea birds flew over head and roamed the shore. Never had Serena felt such a feeling of peace.  
'I never would have thought a place so beautiful still existed in this world...' she thought. She moved towards the water, her feet taking a life of their own. She walked up to her ankles in the surf, entranced with the waves lapping against her feet. She had never seen an ocean before, at least that she could remember.   
17 watched as she took in her surroundings, curious of her apparent joy and wonder. From what he saw, there wasn't anything all that exciting. But she seemed to view it as an amazing and wondrous sight. He suddenly wondered if he would feel the same if he was still human.  
'Where did that come from?' he thought. 'I've never wondered what my I would be or feel if I were human before.' He dismissed the thought, deciding that it was of no importance and was probably just new thoughts that occurred after studying Serena's actions and traits.  
  
Serena peered into the coral reef below her. She was perched on a rock jutting a few inches over the water. She watched as tropical fish danced around the coral. Juuanagou leaned down to look over her shoulder.  
"Alright, we'll catch one and put it in, shrink it, resize it, and see if its still alive," he said.  
"Don't do that! You might kill it!" Serena protested.  
"Its just s fish. Besides, would you like to lug a heavy tank all the way back and then find out we could have kept them in a capsule?"  
Serena sighed. "Fine, go ahead."  
17 plunged his hand into the water and pulled it out so fast that Serena could hardly see the movement. 17 now held a fish, which he dropped into the tank. He was about to shrink it when Serena stopped him.  
"It needs water, dolt."  
17 mentally slapped himself for forgetting. He and Serena scooped water into the tank with their hands When there was enough, he shrunk the tank into a capsule. He pressed the button to release the tank. The water was still there, and so was the fish— in a compressed cube. Serena winced, turning slightly green, and 17 growled.  
"We'll have to use something else," he said.  
"Do you have something else?" Serena asked hopefully.  
"No. We'll have to go get something."   
Serena groaned. "Not more flying. I just want to get the fish and leave." 17 thought for a moment.  
"Fine. You stay here, and I'll go get something to use," he said. Serena looked up at him in surprise.  
"You mean you're willing to leave me here alone?" She asked. 17 looked her in the eye.  
"If you try to get away, I will follow you. And I will find you," he said seriously. She nodded, knowing that she wouldn't have much of a chance of escape. Even if she had a chance, she wouldn't take it. She wouldn't leave her friends. 17 smirked. "Besides, we're on an island," he said before talking off. Serena looked around. The was a forest behind her, but she supposed that it might not go very far. She sighed and settled down to wait in the shade of a palm tree.  
  
  
When 17 returned, Serena had fallen asleep again. He watched her for a few moments before he realized what he was doing and went to get the fish. He refused to become weak over a mere human. Sure he knew it was only lust, but he couldn't let it affect him so much that she was a distraction. He'd have her soon enough anyway.  
Filling the stolen transporter compartment with water and several fish, he sent them back to 18. He had contacted her with the vid-phone that had belonged to the same person he had taken the transporter from. The guy wouldn't be needing it now anyway.  
After waiting a few minutes to be sure that 18 had gotten the first load, he filled the compartment up again. Repeating the process several times, he decided that it was a waste of time and 18 didn't need more than 10 fish. He was not in a very obliging mood towards his sister at the moment. She had made him get some weird stuff, but this was really ridiculous. Leaving the transporter on the beach, he went over to get Serena.  
'It's better she's asleep,' he thought as he picked her up. They would get back faster, and she wouldn't have to be terrified for the next few hours.  
'Though I'll miss her clinging to me,' he thought ruefully.  
  
  
A few hours later, he landed beside the 'base'. There was a sort of hangar where he kept his cars. 18 loved to tease him about his love for cars, but usually refrained from comments so as not to be criticized for her fashion craze.  
He entered the hangar, careful of the girl in his arms. She had slept the whole time. He had been a bit surprised, but figured she didn't get much sleep. He looked down at her sleeping form. He frowned as he noticed that her face was a bit flushed, and stopped walking. He shifted her slightly so that one of his hands was free and felt her forehead. He pulled his hand back quickly when he felt how hot her forehead was.  
'I may not know that much about humans, but that is DEFINITELY not 98.6.' He walked quickly through the hangar and entered the code for the door. It opened slowly, and he waited impatiently for the opening to be big enough for him to get through while carrying Serena. He considered blasting the door open, but the door opened before he had the chance. He started towards the personal medical room, walking so fast that a human would have to run to keep up. He called to 18 as he passed the room where she was lounging on pillows and going over outfit designs.  
"What happened?" 18 asked, catching up to 17 when he reached their medical room. It was much smaller than the main medical room where slaves went, but the technology was more advanced. It had been built before the Androids had come, and they had had little use for it besides a few saiyan-inflicted injuries that couldn't be fixed by maintenance; most of their bodies were human, even though there minds were far more Android.  
"How should I know?" 17 snapped. He put Serena on one of the medical tables. A medical droid hurried forward for orders. "Fine out what's wrong an fix it!" 17 ordered, practically yelling.  
"Don't get so testy, humans get sick all the time, there are ways to treat it," 18 said.  
"Sir..." the medical droid said a minute later.  
"What?" 17 snapped.  
"I cannot find the cause of her illness—"  
17 growled and shot a ki blast at the droid, effectively demolishing it.  
"17! What was that for?" 18 demanded.  
"He's useless!"  
"Fine then, YOU take her temperature, YOU record her symptoms, YOU find a sample of the virus cells, and YOU give all the information to a droid that will be sent out to go to the places you were today and see if it can find any records of new illnesses," 18 said.  
17 blinked. "Uh..."  
"Didn't think of that, did you? Now get a new droid!" 18 ordered. 17 went over to a control panel in the wall and pressed a button that would activate a new medical droid.  
"Alright, it will be here in a few minutes. I'm sending for her friend, the blue-haired one. She knows about medicine," 17 said.  
"Fine, just hurry up. I don't want her dying either. She's the only slave with a fashion sense that isn't so scared that she would say whatever she thinks I want to hear instead of what is better," 18 said.  
"I thought you wanted slaves to say whatever you wanted to hear."  
"Usually, but not in this case. Would you hurry up and get her friend?"  
  
The door to the girls' room swung open. Ami and Mina jumped up from where they were sitting on the bed, and Raye and Lita stopped pacing the floors.  
"17 wants the blue haired girl," he said.  
"Where's Serena?" Lita demanded.  
"I am not authorized to give you that information," the droid said.  
"Listen, you rustbucket of—" Mina clapped her hands over Raye's mouth to prevent her from finishing the thought.  
"We're coming too," Mina declared.  
"Only the blue-haired one was sent for," the droid said.  
"Did anyone say not to bring us too?" Lita asked.  
After a moment of consideration, the droid told them that no one had told him this. Being the simplest model of droid (and therefore one that was not nearly as smart) he allowed all four of the girls to come.  
  
The girls grew worried as they were lead towards the medical room. Their fears were confirmed when they saw Serena lying on a medical bed. They rushed over, nearly pushing the medical droid away.  
"Why did you bring them all?" 18 snapped at the droid.  
"I wasn't told not to," the droid said. The two androids stared at the droid, and then at the four girls fussing over Serena.  
"We're going to have to start guarding them with smarter droids," 18 muttered.  
"Alright, everyone BACK AWAY!" Ami yelled, startling everyone in the room. The usually quiet girl took a deep breath and went on more calmly. "I can't do anything while you are all in my way," she said more gently. The other three girls moved over to the wall.  
"If you need any help, Ami," Mina started.  
"Oh no, we're not letting you get NEAR her!" Lita exclaimed. Mina pouted.  
"Man, you make one mistake..." she muttered. She smiled slightly to let the others know she was joking, but her concern for her friend made it a very weak smile. Raye put her arm around Mina and gave her a reassuring squeeze.  
"Her temperature is 107 degrees," Ami said gravely. The medical droid was currently getting a sample of the infecting cells.  
"Data analysis complete," it reported to the androids.  
"Transfer the information to the spy droid outside," 18 ordered. 17 had already given the spy droid orders and a complete description of where they had gone.  
"I need some help over here," Ami said. The three girls rushed over to help, but Ami shook her head. "I need someone who knows where everything is," she explained.  
"I'll get another droid," 18 said. 17 stood silently in the corner of the room, watching what was going on with an indifferent look on his face.  
The first medical droid returned, having finished transferring the data. Ami ordered it to get a medicine to help lower the fever as the other three girls returned dejectedly to their place by the wall. As soon as the new droid came in, it was ordered to get a cold, damp washcloth. The androids told the two medical droids to follow Ami's orders and watched as the girl took total command.  
Serena's breathing became strained, and Mina started to panic. Ami told her if she couldn't calm down she would have to leave. Ami's face showed that she was under a lot of stress, and that she was very worried about her friend. This was not reassuring to the other three girls. Raye and Lita managed to calm Mina down, and they watched silently as Ami worked. A medicine to aid breathing was given to Serena through an injection in the arm. At first it seemed that the medicine wouldn't help, but after awhile, Serena began breathing easier. Ami ordered the droids to bring a pillow and blanket. The damp cloth that she had sent a droid for earlier was put on Serena's forehead. Ami gave her several medicines, but the fever stayed strong, never dropping more than half a degree.  
Ami even tried to sweat the fever out. Serena was piled with blankets and put in a heating chamber that was in the medical room. It looked basically like a bed with a transparent dome over it. The fever began to go down, much to the girls' relief. Looking at a clock on the wall, Lita saw that it had already been three hours since they had come to the medical room. Ami collapsed into a chair, keeping her eye on the monitor of the heating chamber.  
After two hours in the heating chamber, Serena's temperature was down to 103 degrees. It was a big improvement, but the danger wasn't over yet. And the droid might not return for hours yet. It had only been gone for a little over four hours. 18 estimated that it would take another four hours at the very least, unless it found something right away. Raye, Mina, Lita, and Ami were on the verge of falling asleep. It was five o'clock in the morning, and they hadn't slept all night. Lita suggested taking shifts watching Serena so Ami could sleep. Ami protested, but the other girls assured her that they would wake her up for there was any change. 18 stopped this plan in it's tracks.  
"She can stay," 18 said, pointing at Ami. "But the rest of you are to go back to your room. You have six hours to sleep before going back to work. I suggest you use it." The girls were about to protest, but 18's glare reminded them that they had no choice in the matter. They were actually a little surprised that she had let Ami stay and given the girls time to sleep.  
Raye, Mina, and Lita reluctantly left and went back to their room. 18 said that she had other things she had to do, leaving Ami and 17 to watch Serena. Ami struggled to keep her eyes open, determined to stay awake incase something happened.  
"Go to sleep, your no use if you're too tired to do anything," 17 said. "I'll wake you if anything changes."  
Ami shook her head, but was too tired to say anything.  
"You don't trust me?" 17 asked, knowing immediately why the girl wouldn't take the offer. Ami bowed her head nervously and didn't answer. 17 sighed mentally. Serena would need her friend's help, and he wanted Ami to be able to help her when she needed it.  
"I'm not going to let her die," he said forcefully. "If I was going to do that, I wouldn't have sent for you. I would have just let her die hours ago, or I would have killed her myself." He could see that Ami saw the logic in this. She hesitated, and then nodded her consent. "Good, there's a spare bed right over there."  
Ami lay down on the bed and closed her eyes. But then she sat up again.  
"If her temperature rises, wake me,... or if it goes down more than half a degree," she told him. He nodded, and Ami lay down again.  
A moment later, she was again sitting up. "If she moves at all, I'll need to know... it will mean she's not in the deep sleep..." she trailed off. Again, 17 nodded. Again, Ami lay down and closed her eyes.  
Only to sit up less then three seconds later. "She'll need more medicine in a few hours..."  
17 tried to hide his annoyance. He called over one of the medical droids. "Tell the droid, it will remember every instruction," he told her. Ami told the droid everything she had told 17, and then more.  
"Take her out of the heating chamber in one hour. If her temperature starts going up again, wake me. If she moves at ALL, wake me. If she stirs, shivers, ANYTHING," she told the droid.  
"Affirmative," the droid responded.  
And finally, Ami went to sleep. 17 sighed. Humans were too emotional and not organized enough. Even the one he thought would be the most organized out of Serena's friends. He shook his head slightly and sat in the chair beside the heating chamber.  
Why had he cared so much when he had discovered that she was sick? No, he knew why. She was interesting and he wanted to learn more from her. She amused him and if she was gone, he wouldn't have a source of amusement anymore. That was all it was.  
  
*****************************************************************************  
  
VOTE: Which would you prefer I use for 17's name, just plain 17 or Juuanagou? If I use Juuanagou, should I also use Juuhaichigou, or would you get confused because they are similar? Also, I usually add spaces in order to make indents for each paragraph, but this time I didn't. Which do you like better?  
  
Once again, please review!! It only takes a second! ~_^ Criticism, corrections, and suggestions are welcome! But if you are just going to insult me and never tell me what I did wrong, don't bother. I can't do anything if you don't tell me what's wrong.


	12. Chapter 11

TA DA!!! A new chapter, and it's only been... *checks last post date* Four months!!! *sweatdrop* Well, it's a lot better than 9 months... which was how long it took to get out chapter 10... *sigh* Sorry this took so long, but I had to look up stuff to find out how some medical equipment worked... it would have been longer, actually; I haven't proof-read this chapter, so parts of it may not be so good. I hope they're ok.  
But good news! I've been working out some of my writers blocks and fixing plot holes, so hopefully the story will improve for her on out. Romance is coming! I'm getting over my shyness at writing romance when I know that my friends are reading it. (That's right, you can blame... actually, I won't say who it is, I don't want her to get flamed!!! ^^ But when she found out my screen name, I got really shy about posting romance, which is one reason that the romance has been so slow in getting here.) Also, to those of you who feel that a romance between 17 and Serena is totally unlikely because who 17 is, I know what your thinking. Just please keep reading. It's certainly not a love-at-first sight romance, I can tell you that. It will be—  
Trotter: *slaps hand over EMP's mouth* YOU'RE SAYING TOO MUCH!!!  
EMP: *removes Trotter's hand* Look everybody, I got a MUSE!!!! Say hi, Trotter!!!  
Trotter: .... *blush* too many people... *disappears*  
EMP: Ehehehe... *sweatdrop* We're working on that...  
Now, for the next chapter; don't expect it before late December. (I know, I'm sorry, I really am!!! But I'm so busy with school and stuff!! I hardly see my friends outside of school anymore!! Just ask shyne, dragonchik860, The Wanderer, and Silver Spider!!) But hopefully the chapters will be posted more frequently now that I'm getting rid of future plot holes, which leaves me free to write the story. I just got to make sure I got them all, but I think I— *spots plot hole* ACK!! *pulls out sword* DIE, PLOT HOLE!!!  
Plot Hole: Eeep!  
*EMP chases Plot Hole around, waving sword in the air*  
Trotter: Er... EMP is sorry she isn't responded to reviews this time, but this AN is already super long, and she thought you'd want her to get on with the story...  
  


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Chapter 11  
  
18 was thoroughly disgusted.  
Sure, was worried about the girl (though she wouldn't admit it), but at least she wasn't going insane. Her brother had hardly left her for the past three days. He just stared at her for hours. And when he did leave, he wandered around like a lost soul, his eyes dull and lifeless. Trying to talk to him, she had to repeat his name several times before he snapped out of his trance somewhat to answer her. Once she saw him nearly walk into a wall.   
The only time he was animated was when he returned to the infirmary to check on Serena. He would anxiously ask if anything had changed, and finding that nothing had, he would return to silently, indifferently watching her like a hawk.  
As the days wore on, he grew more agitated. He went out for a long time, and 18 could only guess that he was out somewhere blowing things up. He hadn't gone out to do that since before Serena had come. 18 remembered when they used to go out all the time looking for fun— their idea of fun being wreaking havoc, of course.   
After they had killed Gohan, Trunks had given them most of their entertainment. Sometimes 18 thought it was too bad that they had finally captured him; now they had to make due with people who didn't stand a chance. Very few ever tried to fight back. Not that she didn't like playing with humans, but some variety would have been nice. And the battles had been exhilarating.   
When there were less humans to play with, it was still fun to blow up buildings. To prevent losing all their playthings, the androids didn't always kill the humans. Watching them scream and run from falling debris was almost as enjoyable. Both androids had their own hobbies as well. 18 personally loved fashion, and would often go to abandoned stores and malls to add to her collection. 17 was, for reasons 18 couldn't even begin to comprehend, obsessed with driving. He also liked amusement parks. Go figure.  
18 still went out all the time. 17 assumed that at she was still killing people and destroying things. But in truth, she hadn't been able to have fun with humans for quite some time.  
After she first borrowed Serena, her next trip didn't seem so entertaining. She had developed a grudging respect for the girl, pathetic weakling that she was. She refused to admit that she had actually _enjoyed_ the day spent with Serena, but as she realized that she had less interest in killing humans, she had to face that fact.  
Then she denied it and destroyed a whole city in Europe just to prove that it was wrong.  
When she had gotten to know Serena better over the next week, she found it much harder to kill humans. Maybe it was because they seemed so much like the girl that 18 had befriended, or maybe it was something else. At any rate, her recent outings had been to add to her enormous clothing collection, and not to hurt people. She let 17 think that she was off on a killing spree, casually mentioning fictitious events that occurred on her outings to ensure that he didn't guess what was going on. 17 never had reason to question her.  
How could she tell 17 what she was feeling after teasing him again and again about his weakness for the girl? It wasn't like she could explain it to him; she couldn't even explain it to herself. She was disgusted with herself, and that was bad enough without 17 being disgusted with her too. So she kept quiet and convinced herself that it was just a phase, something that would pass soon enough.  


***************

17 gazed at the terrain around him, examining his work. Heaps of rubble and debris were scattered everywhere. It was impossible to tell that a few hours ago, a large city had stood there. A eerie silence had fallen over the area, and not even the cries of victims pierced the air. Not because they were all dead. Because they're hadn't been any.  
17 had tried to kill, but when he saw the scared faces of the humans, he was reminded of how much like Serena they were. She was one of them. And he couldn't kill them.  
He was furious with himself. He had always told himself that he wouldn't let her interfere with anything, that she was just a plaything, to be used and discarded. He had always told himself that he felt nothing but lust. Wasn't that all he could feel for her? He wasn't capable of anything else— was he?  
But then why hadn't he taken her already? He had been planning to seduce her within a matter of days, make her submit to him. But so far, he had hardly tried. Maybe it was because he amused him, and he didn't want to end that just yet. Or maybe because her behavior made him curious. Whatever it was, he certainly couldn't explain it.  
And 18 couldn't find out. He couldn't explain it to himself, let alone her.  


*********************  


Amy entered the medical room to check up Serena, as she did everyday. She had been given permission to come in three times a day to make sure the droids were giving her the proper care and to see if anything had changed. Actually, it had been more like an order, but it was disguised as a reluctant favor.   
She resisted the urge to look towards the corner of the room to see if 17 was there. The first day he had surprised her; he was covered in shadow and she didn't notice him until he spoke, asking about Serena's condition. When Amy left after finishing her tests, he was still standing there. Everyday after he was nearly always there when Amy came in. Today was the sixth day of Serena's illness.  
  
  
  
_5 DAYS BEFORE: (The day after 17 brings Serena back)_  
  
After falling asleep at 5 in the morning, Amy awoke five hours later, at 10 in the morning, to find Serena's condition essentially unchanged. The droids were taking care of everything; giving Serena medicine, changing the wet washcloth on her forehead every hour, keeping readings of her temperature, heart rate, etc. Amy saw 17 standing in the corner as if he hadn't moved since she had fallen asleep the night before.   
'_He was there last night, too— but he wouldn't have stayed there all day and all night... would he? _' Amy wondered as she gave Serena another shot of medicine. The entire time she was there, 17 watched Serena intently, as if she might wake up at any moment.   
After Amy was done making sure that the droids were following her orders, 17 ordered a droid to escort her back to her room, where she was permitted to sleep for another two hours. Afterwards, she was told, she would continue her work in the Medical Room until it was time to check on Serena again. Amy was surprised that she was allowed to have more sleep, and wondered if it was because 17 wanted her to be rested enough to take care of Serena properly. The fact that he had summoned her in the first place instead of letting Serena die hadn't been lost on her, and the blue-haired girl couldn't help but wonder if he cared about her friend, if only a little. The thought was quickly dismissed. The five girls were slaves, and we considered replaceable by the Androids. Serena was unfortunate enough to be adopted as his 'plaything', but any emotional attachment was out of the question.  
The spy droid returned later that day. It brought records of the disease's occurrence as well as information on the symptoms, but no cure. The disease had hit the town hard and fast, and many people had died before a cure could be found. It didn't help that the medical employees been some of the first to fall ill. The town had also been fairly poor, and could not afford to put a lot of money into the research of a cure. Nearly everyone had died within two weeks. Luckily, Amy had the most modern equipment available; it was rare in these times after the Androids had come. It suddenly occurred to her that for the disease to spread so quickly, it was most likely highly contagious. She was suddenly fearful for her friends and all the people she had treated that day, as well as herself. But the scant reports did tell her that the disease was started by extreme water pollution, and was contagious only in the last stages of the illness, right before death. However, Amy wasn't sure how to recognize symptoms of the 'last stages', since the seemed to be similar to the symptoms shown throughout the illness. The illness could last from three days to three weeks after showing the symptoms that Serena had, and Amy hoped that in her friend's case, it would be later rather than sooner.  
From the reports of the spy droid, Amy was able to get a vague idea of possible treatments. She could also guess that the illness was most contagious if it had been acquired from the water supply, and much less so if it had been caught from one who was dying from it. She took extra measures to make sure she didn't catch the disease, such as wearing a medical mask and using air purifiers in the room. The air was already being purified, but the extra purifiers reduced the risk of catching the disease. Since she took care of other people, Amy knew that it would be very dangerous to catch the disease. However, she was fairly sure that she was safe from it. Her main concern was Serena.  
Serena had been doing better than she had the night before; her temperature was still 102 degrees, but her face was more relaxed, not twisted in pain as it had been the night before. Her skin was still pale, her cheeks still flushed, her skin clammy, but she slept more soundly and breathed evenly. She wasn't sweating as much. Still, the danger was far from over, and the girls were given a scare that evening when Serena began to get worse.  
Amy had been summoned from her duties in the main medical room at about 8 in the evening. She hurried to the private medical room Serena occupied. When she got there, she saw that Serena's was wheezing slightly. She fought down panic, hoping that it was just a small problem and would go away. Several times that day Serena had had a little trouble breathing, but Amy had given her medicine and it had gone away. But each time had been a little worse, and it had taken a little time from her breathing to become normal again. And this time was the worst of all.  
Not long after Amy had arrived, Serena had begun tossing. Fear stabbed at her heart as she tried to soothe her friend. Resting her hand on Serena's forehead gently, she discovered that the girl's temperature had risen. She gave quick orders to the droids and they set about their duties, getting wet washcloths and medicine, and injecting a sedative as Amy checked the temperature.  
104. It had gone up again.  
Performing tests as she waited anxiously for the medicine to kick in, Amy discovered that Serena's heart rate had gone up as well. The sedative had stopped Serena from tossing, but the other medicine didn't seem to be working. Sweat poured down Serena's face, which was again twisted with pain. Whimpers escaped her mouth, and Amy watched helplessly as her temperature rose steadily.  
17 stood forgotten in the corner. His hands were clenched into fists, but he didn't notice. He wanted to yell at the blue-haired girl to do something instead of just stand there and let Serena get worse, but he held himself in check. Each cry from the girl on the bed tore at him, and all thoughts of not caring about a weak human were forgotten. As she began thrashing again, he took a step forward, ready to threaten the blue-haired girl to help her or die, but stopped as the girl acted on her own.  
Amy put aside the dangers of using medicines too close together; there was more danger in not giving Serena any medicine. She was careful with what she used, however, making sure that she didn't use two medicines that were dangerous if used together. There was a slight risk, but no more than that.  
"I need the other girls," she cried, hoping that one of the droids would have the authorization to get them. She was startled by 17's voice ordering a droid to get them, but was too busy to take much notice. She continued to try treatments.  
The other girls came running soon after.  
"Amy, what happened?" Raye cried.  
"She's rejected the medicine! Her fever is rising, and I can't get her to calm down! I can't give her more sedative, she might go into a coma! Can you guys try to calm her down?" Amy knew that if anyone could calm her down, it would be the girls or herself, but she was too busy administering possible treatments. Lita snatched a wet washcloth from a droid and began wiping Serena's face, cooing gently. Mina put her hands on her friend's shoulders, trying to stop her from trashing, and Raye sat beside her and held Serena's hand, rubbing it gently. All three tried to soothe her with gentle words and touches. To the relief of all, it seemed to help. Amy didn't want to give Serena more medicine than necessary, fearing a seizure or coma, and was busy studying disease cells and testing them with different medicines over at a lab table. She wished she had known that the other medicine wouldn't work; she could have already developed a medicine to help, if not yet a cure.  
'_If the Androids would have let me miss duties in order to do that,_' she thought. She was not sure that they would have.  
A sudden scream jerked Amy's attention from the disease specimen back to her patient.  
"Amy, what's happening?!" Mina cried. Serena was shaking uncontrollably, tremors wracking her body. The heart monitor was jumping like crazy. Amy ran over, abandoning the petri dishes she was examining.  
"Damnit, her heart is fibrillating!" Amy swore. The other girls gave her blank looks. With a frustrated cry, she turned to a droid. "I need a defibrillator, NOW!" The droid scurried off and Amy turned back to Serena. She felt the girl's forehead and found that her temperature had risen yet again. The real danger, however, was the possibility of Serena going into a coma.  
  
_PRESENT  
_  
Amy had thought they would lose her then. Serena's breathing had been labored, her heart rate was erratic, her temperature rising, and the medicine wasn't doing a thing. Lita had to hold her down when she started thrashing so that she wouldn't hurt herself further.  
  
_5 DAYS BEFORE_  
  
The erratic beats of the heart monitor suddenly became a steady buzz as the monitor waves went flat. Amy grabbed the paddles from the droid who had just returned and held them to Serena's chest. She gave orders to the droid to set the charge and to give the shock on her command.  
"CLEAR!"  
Serena's body arched as the paddles sent an electric shock into her body. The heart monitor remained flat.  
"Raise the charge by 50!" Amy snapped. "Clear!"  
As her body fell from the second arch, Serena gasped for breath. The heart monitor waves reappeared. Amy sighed in relief as Serena breathed deeply. She was still unconscious, but she was alive, and no longer having trouble breathing. The danger wasn't over yet, however; she was still in critical condition. Amy knew that she had to find a cure, or at least something that would help temporarily, and she had to find it fast. She had already injected more than a safe amount of drugs into Serena, and what was worse, the drugs didn't seem to be helping at all.  
Turning back to her experiments, Amy gasped at what she saw in one of the petri dishes. The disease cells multiplying at a disastrous rate in reaction to a drug that Amy had considered as a treatment. Amy stumbled back as she realized that she had given some of that medicine to Serena. Not much, but it seemed that the disease cells didn't need much in order to begin multiplying at an unprecedented rate. That certainly accounted for Serena's relapse just moments before. The need to find a cure quickly had just become twice as imperative.  
Luckily, another petri dish contained something that could possibly lead to a cure. The disease cells were slowly but surely being destroyed by a medicine that Amy had concocted from a variety herbs and drugs. The process of killing the diseased cells was far too slow; Amy knew that Serena would most likely be dead before a significant decrease of diseased cells was made, assuming that the diseased cells in her body didn't overwhelm the medicine. But it was a lead, and Amy was optimistic that she could properly modify the medicine to work within a few hours.  
Quickly filling in the other girls, Amy set to work.  


~~~~~

The piercing buzz of the heart monitor went back to a steady beep. As Serena began to breath again, 17 slowly unclenched his hand; he hadn't even noticed that it had been balled into a fist by his side until now. The muscles in his hand were sore, and he looked down at it in surprise as he felt warm blood where his nails had pierced the skin.

~~~~~

  
_Three Hours Later  
_  
Glancing up at the clock, Amy was shocked by how much time had passed. It had felt like an hour at most. Checking on Serena, she injected part of the new medicine. After testing and modifying it again and again, it had become far more effective. Amy only hoped that it was enough. She would continue to work on it, but her options in ways of modifying it had become much fewer. In addition to that, time was running out. If the injection she had just given Serena didn't at least help her condition, than Serena would be too far gone for Amy to help her.  
Over the next few hours, Amy was heartened to see that the medicine did help. Even so, she had to face the fact that there was a none-too-slim possibility of Serena falling into a coma, or relapsing, or dying in her sleep.  
  
  
_PRESENT DAY (5 Days Later)_  
  
Amy sighed as she felt Serena's forehead. It was much cooler than it had been the first day. If luck was with them, Serena would wake up soon. She seemed to be better, but still she slept. Amy absently handed the damp washcloth to the waiting droid and it sped off to rewet it.  
Leaving Serena's care to the droids and the ever-watchful 17, Amy turned to leave. It was dinner time, and the other girls were waiting for her in the doorway. A soft sound behind her stopped her in her tracks. She turned back to the bed to see Serena stirring slightly.  
With a joyful cry, she ran back to the bed, the other girls close behind her. They leaned over her, watching with held breath as she slowly regained consciousness.  


~~~~~

Serena opened her eyes slowly, squinting against the unfamiliar light. She felt a dull ache throughout her entire body, and everything seemed hazy, as if it were all a dream. The worried faces of her four friends slowly swam into focus. She heard a noise, and it took several moments to identify it as a voice.  
"Serena? How are you feeling?" Mina whispered.  
Serena tried to speak, but her parched throat was too dry. She tried to sit up, but a fierce pain shot through her, and she lay still. She closed her eyes again, vaguely hearing the sound of voices around her. She opened them again when she felt hands supporting her, pulling her to a sitting position. Raye brought her a glass of water while Amy ran tests. Lita and Mina sat beside her.  
"Serena? Are you feeling better?" Lita asked once Serena drank the water. The blond smiled weakly.  
"I'm alright," she replied, not quite the truth, but she didn't want to upset her friends.  
Unfortunately, they were already upset.  
Mina practically pounced on her, crying and telling her how worried they had been and how glad they were she was ok. Raye and Lita pried her off, but then the three began talking to her frantically all at the same time. Mina kept asking how she was feeling and if anything hurt:  
"Are you sure you're ok? How do you feel? Does your head hurt? Or your stomach? Are you too hot or cold?"  
Lita offered to get various things for her:  
"Do you need more water? A pillow? Some food? More blankets? A teddy bear?"  
And Raye berated her for getting herself sick:  
"How DARE you scare us all like that?!? Don't you ever, EVER DO THIS AGAIN!! You scared us out of our wits, you dumb Odango-atama!! Don't even _think_ of pulling this again, I'm going to be watching you like a hawk!!"  
Serena looked from one to the other, bemused. It was hard enough to focus on what one person was saying when that person was the only one speaking. She gave up trying to follow any of it in her disoriented state.  
Amy pushed past the other girls to finish her tests. As the other three girls continued their verbal assault on her bewildered patient, Amy directed Serena.  
"Open your mouth. Now, say 'Aaahh'.... good. Breath in deeply..."  
The chattering settled down a bit as the four girls proceeded to fill Serena in on the past week. It wasn't that interesting, but they wanted to be a comfort, so they embellished a bit, mindful that in her condition Serena probably wasn't following much of it anyway.  
As she looked around, still feeling slightly dazed, she caught sight of 17. His casual stance revealed nothing of his agitation over her illness. Their eyes locked, and everything else seemed to fade into the background.  
As her friends continued to chatter excitedly, they failed to notice that they no longer held their friend's attention.  


********************

  
Two days later, Serena was moved back into the room that she shared with her friends. She was still out of it, only partially conscious. Everything was still dreamlike and hazy to her, but Amy said that things would seem more real as she recovered.  
The girls were working, and Serena was alone in the room. She slept most of the day, waking in short intervals now and again. She was mostly asleep now as she vaguely heard the door open and close lightly. She couldn't tell if the sound was real or a dream. She tried to lift her head, but found she had barely enough energy to move her eyes to see the person. He came into her view and sat in the chair beside her bed. For some reason, she didn't mind him being there. Usually she would have felt nervous or annoyed; but this time, she almost felt glad that he was there. However, she was too tired and weak to notice her change in feelings. Her mind barely acknowledged his presence.  


~~~~~

He closed the door softly behind him, trying to ignore the thump in his chest when he saw her laying there. Her golden hair was spread over the pure white sheets, creating an almost angelic effect. Her eyes were half closed from weariness. He sat beside her and watched as her eyes moved slowly to meet his. He didn't say anything at first; he didn't want to break the silence, though he wasn't sure why. He knew she was still too weak to talk.  


~~~~~

He reached out and took her hand, holding it so lightly that her hand was lying on top of his more than it was being held. She barely felt his hand. He talked to her softly though she didn't hear most of it, and couldn't remember a word of it later. Her half-lidded eyes drifted down to the bed again, as if it was to much work to keep them up.  


~~~~~

He told her about how bored he was without her there to amuse him, even though he knew she probably couldn't hear most of what he was saying. He talked in a soft, gentle voice that he couldn't remember having ever used before. A strange feeling stirred inside him as he watched her laying there, looking so lifeless. It started as an uncomfortable feeling, but slowly grew to a pain in his chest. He wished she would look at him and smile, or insult him, or at least roll her eyes at him. He wished she would do something to show that she was the same as always. He wanted to know that she heard him, and understood him; without that, she seemed to be a fragile doll without sight or mind. That wasn't how he wanted her to be. When she had made eye contact, it was alright; for though her eyes were hazy, he had seen recognition in them. He realized he had stopped talking, but couldn't think of anything else to say.  
She was his, damnit. She couldn't be this way. He wanted her like she was before.  
Keeping his face passive and void of emotion was a great talent of his that could infuriate Serena to no end. This talent came into use now as he felt her hand closing gently over his. Her half-lidded eyes told him that she was probably still delirious— and if she wasn't, she was at least half-asleep— so he knew that she was not aware of her own actions. He held her hand more firmly, but gingerly. Shortly after she fell asleep once again.   
He stayed for a long time by her side, gently massaging the back of her hand with his thumb. He wasn't aware that he was doing for quite some time, and stopped as soon as he noticed.  
He had wanted to move her from the medical room to his own chambers, but the room he was having made for her was not yet ready. He knew that despite her current condition, she would forcefully object to staying in his bed, and he didn't want to risk her hurting herself. So he let her move back into the room she shared with her friends, fully intending to have her stay in his rooms when she was fully recovered. He had waited to long to make her his, and she had almost been killed. He was reminded of how vulnerable humans could be. He wouldn't make the same mistake again. He had moved slowly enough with her; too slow. Now she would be his.

  


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**ANNOUNCEMENT!!!! **Since so many of you requested that I e-mail you when I post the next chapter, I have started a Yahoo! Group for this story. People can join to receive update information, reports on my progress of a chapter, etc. You can also post questions, comments, and suggestions, which I will respond to directly. Just go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/direworld/  
... Gee... I just quickly glanced at my Author's Note for the first chapter... My warning on many sexual references... ehehehe... looks like those didn't ever turn up... *sweatdrop* And yes, that comment was totally unrelated to the announcement I just made. I do that sometimes. ^^   
  
Another SUPER QUICK unrelated thing: Do you like X-men? If so, read my friend's new story!! It's at http://fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=1034670  
  
**REMEMBER TO REVIEW!!! PLEASE?!?!?**

P.S. Sorry about not having tabs, my program if having some problems… I'll try to fix it.


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